


The Best Things Come in Two

by Azure_Zink



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: F/M, Incest, InuSess, M/M, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:22:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 15
Words: 68,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26919544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azure_Zink/pseuds/Azure_Zink
Summary: Inuyasha is a father living in the capital city of his country. Working day to day as an engineer to raise his young daughter he is surprised to learn about the friendship she started with the princess and only child of the Lord Sesshomaru. With the girls as close as they are the two fathers are brought closer and closer each time, only time will tell what happens with the two.
Relationships: InuYasha/Sesshoumaru (InuYasha)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 47





	1. Chapter 1

Large round golden eyes stared at the dirty floor of her father's auto-shop and dealership as she sipped her apple juice. She listened to her father bark orders at his employees as they finished the work on a car that had been in an accident. Something slammed loudly near the pup causing her to drop her juice and began to cry. Her father picked her up and held her close, "You're okay. You're okay baby girl. I'm sorry that scared you." With tear-filled eye's she looked up at her father his matching ears standing at attention. Her father was a hanyou and she was fully InuYouki though she took after her father.

"Inuyasha! She can't fucking be here! She'll end up hurt or worse!" Her father's friend, Kouga shouted.

"Dude, shut up with all that cussing in front of her! I swear if she starts repeating stuff! Besides, she starts school tomorrow. So, don't worry about it." Inuyasha pet his daughter's ears causing her to smile and babel on at him in her mother's language. He responded quickly causing her to giggle and lean over to look at her spilt apple juice. Taking napkins, she helped her father clean up the mess and one of the workers gave her orange juice and a donut. Inuyasha happily watched his daughter devour her snack. She'd always been a good eater and he was happy he didn't have to deal with what most parents did when it came to vegetables.

"You're worried. You only stare at her like that when you're worried." His best friend Kouga noted beside him.

"When I was in school it wasn't flowers and roses. I fought daily." Inuyasha sighed heavily.

"I know that mutt I was there. Don't worry. Times are different. She'll be okay." Kouga reassured his best friend. He and his own mate hadn't had children yet, when they did finally decide to take that leap he wished he could have a daughter much like Inuyasha's. She was fiery just like her father, but still a princess.

They finally closed up shop at around 9pm. The family of two had dinner in the shop and the younger was asleep in her car seat. They drove past the little lady's school on the way home. Inuyasha couldn't believe his daughter got into such a school. With many recommendations from her mother's family, the school was eager to take her, even if her language skills weren't the best. His daughter was bright, picked up any and everything you explained to her right away. She knew more about math from being around him in the shop than the average teenager and that's what sold the school on giving her the scholarship. Carrying her into the house, he put her pj's on and put her to bed. Inuyasha rubbed his neck watching his baby girl sleep. "School starts at 7:30 sharp. Work starts at 8. School ends at 3:30. Aftercare activities end at 5:30. Workday ends at 9pm. I can come get her at 5:30, and we'll be in the shop together for around 3hrs." He sighed. "Ugh, that's no good. She may be young but that's a youki school and they run their students ragged, no matter the age." For the first time in a long time, Inuyasha decided he'd leave work at a reasonable time. He didn't' trust any of the clowns that worked for him to not fuck anything up but he couldn't keep stressing his daughter out. "A 9hr shift'll have to do." He made sure to plug in her bright nightlight and left the door cracked.

"Sir, the plane has landed." A green toad demon stated eyeing the private jet with the country's flag on the side. Stairs were set up and 3 guards exited before being followed by a tiny girl holding a woman's hand. The little girl's hair had beautifully curled locks of stark white hair, and big round doll eyes with lavender on her eyelids. She was by far the cutest kid Jaken had ever seen.

The group approached his boss, and the woman pushed the little girl forward a bit. She back away from the cold eyes watching her and turned to look up at the woman. She gestured her forward and the little girl simply stared at the man that resembled her. The limo was loaded with the girl's things and she was put into the back of the limo.

"Were there any problems?" The man asked in an icy tone.

"U-um, just a few, sir. She is very jumpy and quiet. They say they found her wandering the woods crying and covered in blood. She hasn't spoken a word to anyone." The man eyed the limo where the little girl was, "But! It is often said that when children go through something traumatic they may not wish to speak for a while. I'm sure she'll come around sir. Rin was the same way, remember?" Nodding he dismissed everyone and joined the little girl in the limo. She sat quietly staring out of the window and didn't acknowledge his presence.

"Sairiu." Nothing. Her eyes were darting around the scenery and he could let it slide since it was her first time in the country. Her short curls framed her face as she leaned against the side of the limo.

They eventually made it to his private towers and up to his condo. He'd had a room redone for the young girl but when he walked in he wanted to be sick. His assistant had gone a bit too far. Everything in the room was either light pink, hot pink, or white. While it was very nicely done, he'd never seen so much pink in one place. The small girl followed him into the room where the servants left her things. He watched as she walked around the room, observing everything, but not touching. She eventually turned towards him and they had a staring contest of sorts. He said nothing as the tiny being stared at him. Eventually her things caught her attention as she fiddled with the chests. "This is your room." He knew she didn't understand the language but she would need to learn eventually. The school he was sending her to came highly recommended for children of international relationships. What was he going to do with a child he wondered. His heir. He hadn't even known she'd existed until a week ago, he'd received a call about her and the fact that her mother had been murdered. That was a problem in itself, when considering he was the King of this nation. Her mother had been a noble from another country he saw fit to take to bed. He had thought very highly of her until he learned about his daughter's existence. He could only think her reasons for hiding her was to use the child against him later.

Assuming she might've been hungry, he ordered his chef to make something that a small child could eat. She eventually came out of the room and into the kitchen. He sat reviewing her medical documents and academics, she was smart. Damn near a genius from what he could see but she was still a damaged child. She simply stood and stared at him for around 20 minutes. "Come here." He said in her native language. She seemed a bit shocked but didn't move or say anything. "Do you know who I am?" Nothing. "I am your father." Still no response. In her files, there were pictures of her with her mother, smiling and laughing as a normal child would. She was described by tutors as talkative and happy but what he was seeing now was the exact opposite. He didn't know for sure what she saw but he could tell it haunted her golden eyes. Lack of therapy would be detrimental, she obviously needed it desperately.

She turned around and went back to her room. Organizing the files and placing them in his office he peeked in at her. She was sitting in the middle of the floor sniffling and wiping her face before it stopped and she stared off at a wall and repeated. Having no experience with children he simply watched and called her when her food was ready. As expected, she simply picked around with her food, only eating bits and pieces. He checked his watch, 8:30. He should begin to get her on a schedule. 9pm seemed reasonable enough for a bedtime. He led her back to her room. "Put on pajamas and get ready for bed." He said in her language.

His assistant, Rin, was passing by with towels. She was a woman he respected, loyal to a fault. "So, this is her my lord? She's really adorable. Are you getting her ready for bed?" She asked.

"I'm sure as this age she is capable of doing so alone." He stated simply.

Rin's jaw dropped, "Children this young still need a bit of assistance, my lord. She's only 5." Without saying anything she dug through drawer until she found a soft nightgown but when she approached the little girl with it she ran away with a frown. She grabbed Sesshomaru's pant leg and began to cry as Rin got closer. "I guess she doesn't like me." She smiled a bit, determined to win the little girl over.

Sesshomaru sighed and grabbed the tiny piece of clothing. He helped her out of what she had on and helped her slip into the gown, well it looked like a grown. The bottom was completely closed so her feet stayed warm. He helped her up the steps and watched as she tucked herself in. When he left the room, he turned off the lights and noticed yet another irritating detail his assistant added. The ceiling was painted with glow in the dark paint to look like the night sky and her blanket, of all things, was also glow in the dark. He left the room and went to his own.

Later in the night, he opened his eyes and was staring into Sairiu's. It was creepy. He wanted to shout at her but then he'd have to admit she frightened him. His youkai had accepted the child and that's why she'd been able to get so close while he'd been sleeping. She didn't say anything before she climbed onto the bed, under his blanket, and curled up next to him like the puppy she was. Sesshomaru said nothing and simply went back to sleep until his alarm went off at 6:30am. Waking Sairiu, he began getting her ready for the day himself because she refused to allow any of the servants near her without falling into a fit of tears and panic.

This led to where he was now. In his office, standing and speaking with his advisors, with a tiny pup attached to his leg. She was sitting on his foot with her arms and legs wrapped firmly around his calf so that whenever he walked, she got a ride. She wasn't too bothersome as she was quiet and only listened to him speak in a language she didn't understand. She was adamant that she bring a white doll with her that currently sat in his office chair. Sairiu eventually let go of the lord's leg in favor of tugging on it and doing a bit of a dance. Her face scrunched in discomfort and she let loose a high-pitched whined which gained her father's attention. "What is it?" He asked in her mother's native tongue.

She said nothing and only continued with her dance. A female adviser cleared her throat, "I believe she needs use of a restroom." Having several young children of her own she knew the potty dance when she saw it.

Sesshomaru sighed in annoyance and excused himself so he could take her to the bathroom. "At this age she shouldn't need assistance, correct?" He asked the adviser after he picked her up.

"If the toilet isn't too high then no. Basically, if she can't get herself onto the toilet it's much too big for her and you should help so she doesn't fall in. If it makes you feel better my lord, girls are easier than boys." She chuckled. Sesshomaru sighed once more before he led his daughter into the adjoining bathroom of his office.

He watched her pull her stockings and panties down before trying to get on the toilet then looking at him for assistance. Lifting her on to the toilet he held her still so she wouldn't fall in. Sairiu began to pee and could wipe herself when finished. Sesshomaru lifted her so she could wash and dry her hands before joining his colleagues once more.

Sairiu said nothing as she clung to his leg again, munching on one of the cookies that a servant left for her as a snack. Sesshomaru didn't loath or regret the little girl, he knew full and well he had the means to care for a child but he didn't know it could be so annoying. His advisers, servants, and citizens thought it was adorable how she clung to him. During lunch, he learned quite a bit about the little girl and children in general. She refused to eat anything green or remotely resembling that of a vegetable, except seaweed. She'd cleared everything from her plate except for the few vegetables that she had. She left the plate behind in favor of the doll that was still seated at his desk. The lord planned to let it slide today because she still wasn't use to life here but he refused to have these problems. The little girl was very much like himself, which he didn't know if it was a positive or negative thing. The lord began to make his rounds around the Tower to different parts which housed different branches of the government. Sairiu was firmly glued to his leg, however, this time she was standing. She watched as Sesshomaru worked and conferred with many people quietly. Much to both her father's and her own relief, no one tried to touch or talk to her. Most noticed her clinging to him from afar and commented amongst themselves.

"Looorddd Sessshooooooomaaruuuuuuuuu!" A loud screeching was heard. Jaken was headed towards them quickly, with a large stack of papers. "My lord we have been misinformed!"

"What are you speaking of?" He inquired.

"The school started today, not next week! The young miss has missed her first day!" Jaken squawked loudly.

Sesshomaru pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. This could not be happening. He already had a lot on his plate in regards to renewing treaties with his allies and enemies but the stuff that came with the little girl just hindered everything. He didn't want to care but because she was his first born, she had rights to the throne and needed to be catered to, as he was. It was only Monday, the school couldn't have gotten far. Sairiu was still too frightened of people to go to school the following morning but he really couldn't have her out of school for long, should she her spot be taken. He knew that wouldn't be the case because she is the princess of the lands but he still worried about her falling behind her peers.

Sesshomaru finished his rounds and began to schedule his daughter, the school started at 7:30am and he himself woke at 6:30. She would be in school until 3:30pm. A driver would be sent to get her and bring her to the Tower. She receives a snack then sees a tutor for her language skills then does homework. After homework, she is allowed free time to play but then she must wash for dinner which will be served at 7pm sharp. Afterward, she is allowed more free time before she is bathed and put to bed at 9pm. Sesshomaru handed the handwritten schedule to his assistant who put it into a side by side on his digital calendar so he knew what his daughter was doing during the weekdays if something came up.

He looked at the girl who was munching on a new snack and trying to feed it to her doll before staring off into space again, tearing up, and repeating the process. He sighed, which he'd been doing a lot of, before contacting his assistant to add therapy to his daughter's schedule for 2 hours on Sunday. Youki by nature are usually able to recover well from trauma, but children were very different from adult youki. Their minds and youkai minds were very undeveloped and couldn't process events as an adult would. The spacing out and tearing up worried him the most as it seemed to be like she was stuck in the past, witnessing what she'd seen again.

When they finally made it back into the condo, Sesshomaru was exhausted. He'd be happy when he could finally have her in a routine and get rid of the stress she'd been causing. As he sat on the sofa, they began another staring contest until she seemingly became bored and began to explore her surroundings. "Sairiu. Come here." He said in her native tongue. She came over curiously unlike last time. "Tomorrow you have to go to school." Her face was blank as he explained. "You have to let miss Rin do her job. She'll come get you after school and bring you here. You will have a snack and you can play until I arrive at dinner. Do you understand?" The gentle woman had already met her and was the only person, aside from a few servants and cooks ,allowed in his condo. She was quite young at only 18 having worked here for 3 year's already because of her being an abused orphan and needing money to get by. Sesshomaru gave her a job and gained the human's absolute loyalty. He knew for a fact that she could be trusted with his daughter.

Sairiu said nothing as expected and neither shook her head or nodded. Sesshomaru prayed that he would be able to deal with the damaged child in the coming weeks and prayed that the therapy would assist greatly. Another staring contest ensued and the Lord lost this time. Dinner was served and the two ate quietly, Sairiu still refused to touch her vegetables but he planned to start correcting her behavior after her first therapy session. Her therapist would be his own as he carried the weight of his country on his shoulders with no mate to share the burden.

The first day of school was usually scary but more so when you were the only puppy eared child in the class. Kiki wasn't worried about school, she actually just didn't want to go. Her father dropped her off and she was led into the building while she watched his car pull away from the gate. The students were lined up and given assigned seats. Kiki was sat at a table with 3 youki children. Being the only puppy ear child in school drew a lot of attention, unwanted attention. It started immediately. Children started asking about her ears and tail. Begging to touch them and Kiki smacking their hands away. During a scheduled recess, Kiki sat drawing cars on the ground in chalk, she had on the school uniform which consisted of a white blouse, a navy blue overall dress, and white socks and black shoes. "Your ears are stupid!" An older boy shouted, she didn't understand what he said and only looked at him. "What are you? Stupid?" He mocked. She only tilted her head in question. He was talking like her father did to his workers. The boy ended up scuffing her drawings and pushing her down, before laughing with his friends. Kiki was truly her father's daughter however. She stood up as the boy turned away and dusted off her dress. Grabbing the pail of Crayola chalk by the handle, and quickly, as hard as she could, swung it around catching the boy in the back of the head. He clutched his head and began to cry. He cried loudly until a teacher ran over to see what had happened.

Kiki tilted her head up uncaring, she walked to a different area of the playground with her chalk. After that incident the boy left her alone but he and his group had found another target the next day. A quiet shiro Inu girl. She sat alone on a bench, toying with her small white doll. The girl hadn't spoken to anyone and she was off in a corner, out of view of the teachers. She too wore the standard uniform the boy, grabbed the doll and threw it. She looked up in shock and he pushed her off the bench hard. She hit her head and began to cry.

For weeks, the boys bullied the little girl ruthlessly during recess and at times in the hall. They would yell at and berate her, using their parent's status to make sure other students didn't interfere. She became more quiet and withdrawn each day, to the point where even her therapist wasn't getting anything from her besides a blank stare off into space. Her father was worried but he was busy with the affairs of the country and had no reason to believe those he hired wouldn't be able to solve the issues. For the young girl who already felt alone in the world, life became much harder and she was anxious for the day to end when she could go back to the home of her father.

Kiki, however, was in a different boat. The other kids had been curious about her ears and tail but she had not been amused. Her class was terrified of her. Whenever she was near they went the other way. It didn't bother her though. She didn't need them to have fun. She didn't even want to go to school. One day, during recess, she was shuffling around the toy boxes for something to do, when her ears picked up crying. Her sense of hearing was better than most because they were already transformed. She also heard the voice of the bully, grabbing a small wooden bat from the chest that was used for baseball by the older kids, she followed the sounds. The group of boys that tried to bother her before were there, picking on another girl. Kiki recognized the older girl from her class where they taught her how to talk like her father. Her golden eyes were full of sorrow as the boys pushed her down and threw her cute doll. Kiki tilted her head in consideration. She didn't want to get involved but Kiki was confused about why the girl wouldn't defend herself when she remembered what her dad told her about there being people who get so scared they don't think very well. She also remembered when he told her she should protect the people weaker than her, and so she would. She began to walk over. One of the boys caught sight of her, "Get out of here hanyou!" He shouted as he approached her. She tapped the bat on the ground, trying to think about what her father said was the best way to hit a ball when they played together. Without a word, two tiny hands grasped the bat, pulled back and let the young boy have it. She hit him as hard as he could and from the thud the child made when he hit the ground unmoving, she was successful.

The other boys began to approach her so she started swinging away knocking another unconscious. One managed to get away, but the main bully remained standing. He looked at her with such a pure look of hatred that Kiki peddled back a moment. Her uniform was stained with blood as was the ground but he managed to snatch the bat and throw it away. Kiki readied her fists and claws, she'd never been in an actual physical fight but he dad had been teaching her how to defend herself for a long time and she planned to make him proud. However, there was a breaking sound and the bully fell to the ground. Sairiu stood red faced with tears and blood covering her as well. Quite a few teachers had run over and began to panic at the sight. Several students were down and out for the count and others were covered in blood. They were told the hanyou girl had started hitting the boys with the bat but the other child was the one holding the bloodied bat. Gathering the children and taking them to the infirmary there were a series of calls made to all parents.

The two girls were soon seated in a meeting room where the principle planned to have a large meeting with the parents of all involved. The boys who were bandaged but conscious joined and their parents arrived quickly and began shouting and yelling at the little girls. Sairiu had not stopped crying the entire time and was screaming for her father in her native language, with snot, tears, and blood all over her. Very few people in the room knew her father and if they did they said nothing. Kiki however, was quiet and glaring at all the red-faced youki in the room yelling at the two pups.

Elsewhere, two fathers had been called, there had been a very serious incident at the school involving their daughters. Inuyasha sped away from his job not even wiping the oil from his hands. Inuyasha soon bounded through the door, and when he saw his daughter covered in blood he grabbed her and began checking her over quickly. "What happened!?" He was frantic and Kiki soon began crying too now that her father was there. She cried loudly and it broke his heart to have her like this when usually she never cried unless frightened. Not missing a beat the youki in the room began to scream and shout at Inuyasha about how his daughter was a monster and he had half a mind to kick every one of their collective asses.

"The fuck do you mean?" Inuyasha scrunched his face in anger.

While his daughter had stopped crying, he noticed just how frightened the other little Inu girl was with all the shouting in the room. She clearly needed some comforting and while Inuyasha wouldn't want to freak her parents out by holding her the little girl was on the verge of making herself pass out. "All of you shut the hell up!" He shouted loudly with a pulse of his youki, silencing the room.

With his daughter in his arms he kneeled, "Hey princess, everything is gonna be okay." The tiny girl continued crying and speaking in a language that sounded Korean. "I know you're scared, it's okay to be scared. I promise." Inuyasha was gentle with the small girl, and picked her up with one arm. She flinched a bit but then he let his youki pulse soothingly and she began to calm down. Soon he held the two pups in his arms as they both played with his long locks and watched the wall he had them facing. "Okay now that you all aren't acting like morons. Tell me why my daughter is covered in blood."

"Mr. Setsuna. Your daughter beat 4 boys with a bat. From what we understand as the truth." The principal shortened. "We don't know why she did something like that but considering how she terrorizes her classmates it seemed inevitable"

"Pause and stop. Kiki has never done something like that. She's kind and sweet to those who are kind and sweet to her. She's never been known for hostility and you're not gonna sit here and slander my daughter's name with your nonsense." Inuyasha retorted. As he finished the door opened and all the adult youki in the room dropped to their knees.

"My lord!" One woman praised.

The tall InuYouki king said nothing as his cold gaze zeroed in on the hanyou holding his child. A loud screeching voice was heard as one of his servant squawked, "How dare you touch the princess with your filthy half breed hands!" Inuyasha quirked a brow at the little toad looking creature. He was unable to say anything because the girl began to squirm, when he let her down she began to cry to the youki quite loudly.

"What has happened here?" The Lord asked impatiently as he merely watched as his daughter tugged on him to be held as the hanyou had done. The principle regaled the tale he was able to tell from what the boys had told him. The king's eyes found the hanyou looking pup. "Tell me child. What transpired?"

The 4 year old said nothing and stared at the handsome man. Inuyasha set her down and asked her in her mother's language.

Kiki began speaking rapidly to her father in her native language, pointing at Sairiu then at the boys. She made various gestures, including the motion of swinging a bat before shrugging and finishing what she was saying. "Heh. I did tell you that huh?" He grinned and kissed her cheek, "I'm proud of you but you still shouldn't have beat them like that. Okay? Ugh, we need to get you a bath."

"What did she say?" The lord demanded, earning a glare from the bold hanyou which caused him to quirk an elegant brow.

"The boys Kiki beat up were picking on your daughter. They made her cry and Kiki remembered me telling her to help people who couldn't defend themselves. She told me on the first day they tried picking on her so she hit the main bully upside the head with a bucket of chalk." The adults in the room paled a bit. The story made the most sense thus far.

The king then turned his attention to his own daughter, who had calmed and sat at his feet, clutching his leg. Picking her up to bring her leveled with his face he asked her what happened in her own native tongue. Sairiu's story confirmed that of the hanyou child and Sesshomaru glared at the principle and parents, then the boys who started crying tears of their own. The lord put his daughter on her own feet once more and crossed his arms. "The girls are to be believed. Their stories match, and they add up. Seeing as they do not share a language it is safe to say they had no means of conspiring."

"See, I know my baby girl." Inuyasha sneered at the group.

"Even so sir, we cannot keep her here." The principal sighed. He set Kiki down and she and Sairiu began to stare at each other. Inuyasha didn't know what to say. He knew the school was best for his daughter and she shouldn't be punished for helping someone. He didn't know what to say. Kiki tilting her head at the girl and smiled, it took a moment but the little shiro inu girl smiled back. Her smile was all fang that crushed her eyes together from the force of it.

Sesshomaru's eyes squinted together in annoyance. "Hn. That is unacceptable. Your staff is unacceptable. To allow such things to occur on the grounds, I do not think my daughter or my assets will stay either." The man said coldly. "This establishment need not shut down as I am sure since I will remove my daughter others will follow suit."

"Wait! My lord! I can assure you that your daughter is safe here. The donation you've made has really helped the school tremendously. Please!" The principal said frantically.

"Then the young youki girl stays as well." He gestured to the little girl that had his daughter smiling in front of him for the first time.

"I…I…o-okay sir." The principal gave in, knowing that without the prestige that came with housing the royal heir, his school would fail.

"Hence forth, since yours have proven incompetent, I will place guards to keep her safe so this does not happen again." With that the man turned on his heal, leaving his daughter and servant to follow.

Kiki ran after them and Inuyasha walked behind, watching the little girls interact. They didn't speak to one another, simply smiled and made gestures. "How old is she? If you don't mind my asking."

The toad creature was about to squawk his protest but,"5." Came the short answer from the aloof youki.

"Kiki's 4." He asked Kiki a question her mother's language and she responded back quickly. "Oh, they have their ESL classes together." The older male said nothing and simply took in the oil covered younger male. Not knowing his daughter, she allowed him to hold her which was astonishing. She was fearful of everyone. The small group went to the girls classrooms to retrieve their items before heading towards the front gate, where Inuyasha's SUV and Sesshomaru's limo waited. Putting Kiki on his shoulders, the two made faces, causing the princess to laugh and make faces back. Much to the surprise of the King, his daughter stood on the hanyou males feet as he held her small hands and walked while making faces.

When it was time to part, he crouched down to the princess's level, which he hoped was okay. "Hey little princess, you gotta start fighting for yourself too, okay?" As expected, Sairiu only stared at the man at first, but her eyes found the puppy ears a top his head and he sighed, "Go for it kid." Smiling ear to ear, Sairiu rubbed the soft appendages under the watchful eyes of her lord-father who suppressed a grin at the small interaction. Standing, he and Kiki waved goodbye, and her strapped her into her car seat before pulling off so he could get her cleaned up at home.

The ride back to the condo was uneventful but the lord's mind was preoccupied with thoughts of the puppy eared hanyou male. Logically, there was nothing special about the hanyou and Sesshomaru was unsure as to why he was able to become close to his daughter so quickly. The male must be mated, but the lord was unsure of his status, whether Alpha, Beta, or Omega. It was a bit nerve racking. His daughter seemed to be better and was much more active when they arrived home. She was beaming with happiness as he set his assistant to work on gathering information about the hanyou. Soon, he was brought a full profile on the brash youth. Sesshomaru read the file while Sairiu put a puzzle together. The hanyou was orphaned early on with the death of his mother and absence of his father. He was 213 years old, very young to be a father compared to his own 724. His daughter's mother was a black InuYouki by the name of Hishime. Although, he was very well off. He owned a car dealership and widespread auto repair. Included was a picture of the male. There weren't many shiro inu left in the world and Sesshomaru was curious about who his father was.

"Dude have you ever seen the lord of the west in person?" Inuyasha asked his best friend as he worked on the engine of the car they were fixing.

"No why?" He responded nonchalantly.

"He really helped me out but fuck, I do not want to get on his bad side." Inuyasha replied. Kiki watched from a chair with a juice box and a bag of chips in fresh clothes as her father worked like usual. She'd become use to this routine, there was plenty of things for her to do in the shop but she liked watching her father have fun working on cars and loved it even more when he taught her about the cars he was fixing and let her help. With her uncle Kouga here though, she wouldn't be able to help because it was really important. It wasn't like their garage at home with the really nice looking car her father had been working on. She yawned, showing off her tiny fangs and Inuyasha couldn't help but smile at his cute daughter. "Ready to go home?" She nodded sleepily. "Alright guys, that's it for me. I'll see you half-wits later." Gathering both his and his daughter's things they headed home once more. They watched a kid's movie before bed and Inuyasha tucked his daughter in like usual. She wouldn't be going back to school until the following week, which by then he hoped everything calmed down.

By the following week, both girls were back in school. The months went by quickly and the two became very close and played together every day. Teachers and students alike always expected them to be together. Having someone to be close to also helped with their language skills. Rin was very excited to pick Sairiu up because the two girls would always be standing together holding hands under the watchful eyes of the guards. If Inuyasha arrived before she did he always waited in his car so that they could continue holding hands and she'd do the same if she arrived first. The two were always talking and giggling together as their language skills improved. It was quite obvious the two girls were the best of friends.

Lord Sesshomaru, however, had been hit with another matter. His daughter's presentation. Not many knew he had an heir and it was required that he hold a ball of some sort to allow the nobles to meet his daughter. When she arrived home, he began to explain to her what would happen that Saturday. "Can Kiki come?" She asked quietly, unsure if her father would let her friend come to the important event.

"If that is what you wish." Was his cold answer.

Sairiu was sent to school with an invitation the next day so Kiki could give it to her own father who was surprised. "Crazy how you made friends with the princess, sweetheart."

"Can she go?" She asked.

"Can I go?" He corrected, "Yeah, you can go. We should go talk to Kagome about getting you a new dress. Then we have to find your friend a gift. What do you think she'd like?"

"A doll! Saisai likes dolls! Pretty dolls." Kiki laughed.

"Okay, so let's do that on Thursday." Inuyasha chuckled. So, on Thursday, after school, the two visited one of Inuyasha's good friends Kagome. She was a seamstress who specialized in clothing for children. When she found out Inuyasha was having a daughter she almost popped his eardrums with her squeal of excitement. The two friends caught up as she laid out several dresses that would be appropriate for the event. She allowed Kiki to choose which dress she'd wear and unsurprisingly she chose the white and gold, lace patterned one. It complemented her tanned skin, and golden eyes quite well, and Kagome prayed that any daughter of hers would be just as cute. Inuyasha would be renting a suit to match his daughter so they set off to get a gift after purchasing the dress and shoes.

They found themselves in a small shop and Kiki ran around excitedly looking for the perfect doll. She didn't find one, but found a set of lockets instead. She smiled happily and brought them to her father who knelt. "These instead?" Kiki nodded vigorously. Inuyasha made the purchase and had one wrapped. Soon they were back at home getting ready for bed. Kiki was much too excited to just go to bed. She stayed awake for quite some time after she was put to bed. By Friday she was a ball of energy, excitedly departing from her friend and heading home in anticipation of Saturday.

The night of the event, Kagome came over to assist with Kiki's clothing and hair. She tied her two pony tails and let her bangs hang free. She complimented the young girl's hair with gold and white bows and ribbons that were as long as her hair. In her dress and shoes, the little girl looked like a doll. Inuyasha wore a matching suit, pure white with gold accents. Kagome also helped with his hair and they set off to the event.


	2. Chapter 2

If there was one word he could use to describe the event, he'd choose elegant. Driving one of his vintage cars, Inuyasha handed off the keys with a warning to the vale. He helped Kiki out of her car seat and looked around at the multitude of nobles. He felt overtly insecure about his hanyou status and felt the eyes on him but he refused to let it show, he'd be damned to hell before his eyes met the ground. He held his daughter close as they made their way to the main doors where everyone was entering. Showing the invitation, the usher was shocked and stared at him for a very long time before finally sighing and leading them to a private area where the advisers were seated. He said nothing to them as their stared said enough, and sat Kiki next to him as they watched the nobles bustle about. "Daddy where Saisai?" She asked a bit sad.

"She'll be here soon. I'm sure they have to make a big announcement because she's the princess, kookie." He answered, hoping it was right. He didn't want to give his daughter false information.

A loud horn sounded to his right as the announcer announced the arrival of the King. Inuyasha watched as the elegant youki male stepped into the room. Suit crisp and white, with lilac undertones. He looked regal and well bred. Inuyasha swallowed at the sight of the attractive male. The crowd was silent as he announced his daughter. When the doors opened again, gasps were heard as the little princess was revealed. She looked completely uncomfortable and ready to cry when she saw the crowd. Her dress was white and her hair had grown a bit longer as the unusual curled locks caught everyone's attention. Inuyasha could see the tears welling up in her eyes as she sniffled. She hurried to hide behind her father but she tripped on the lace and just about face planted on the ground. No one besides a certain hanyou noticed the sigh on the lords lips. A servant moved to help the princess up but a puppy eared Inuyoukai child beat them to it. "Is Saisai okay?" She asked with a tilt of her head. Inuyasha had been so wrapped up in the king that he hadn't noticed when his daughter slipped away.

Sairiu's golden eyes widened and she hugged Kiki tightly, "Yay!" With her friend holding her hand, they made their way to the king who raised an eyebrow at the display. The two girls giggled at the stoic man and he suppressed an eye roll.

Sesshomaru finished his announcement with the girls holding hands by his side. He felt a slight tug on his hair and looked down at the tiny beings. "Long hair. Pretty. Like daddy's?" She assessed.

"Daddy there," She pointed at Inuyasha causing him to tense a bit when a large number of people looked in his direction. The two little girls gave Inuyasha wide smiles and enthusiastic waves that he felt compelled to return in a more tame manner. "Daddy funny." The bold child stated causing the king to look over at the well-dressed hanyou. The white and gold suited him well, it was much different than seeing the man in oil covered clothing.

"He cleans up well." Sesshomaru thought to himself. Said hanyou seemed to be watching the young girls as was everyone else. He looked down to the children once more. The child let go of his daughter's hand in favor of holding onto his leg and standing on his foot. She continued to tug on his clothing and babble to him in her broken speech. Inuyasha didn't know what to do. He'd heard of how cold and unforgiving the lord of the lands was and was feeling a bit anxious about his daughter being so casual to the powerful lord. The only thing that helped him relax remotely was when the princess began to do the same. It was pretty amusing to see the stoic lord walking around with two smiling little girls clinging to him and asking him questions that only children could think of. A servant had given each girl a cookie to keep them quiet while the lord spoke and greeted nobles before dinner was served.

Inuyasha stiffened when he noticed the lord heading in his direction, it was then that he noticed he'd been sat to the left of the lord with the girls in between them. The seat on his right remained empty as it was for his nonexistent mate. With the girls seated the meal commenced. Servants put special bibs on the two so they wouldn't ruin their clothing. Many watched in fascination as Kiki cleared her vegetables first before starting on everything else. Sairiu watched as well, then looked at her own vegetables before diving in. Sesshomaru was surprised, no matter what he did, or what punishments he could think of, the girl had refused to touch the green food. Yet here she was, eating quite happily. "Daddy she wan' more broccoli." Kiki stated when she was done.

"I want more broccoli. Politely." Inuyasha stated. He had no idea when she was going to stop speaking in the third person, it was cute but he could only wonder what the people at the school were doing wrong.

"Please?" She asked with a cute tilt of her head.

"Of course, sweetheart." He said, and a servant hurried to give her more. He'd have to remember to start speaking to her in her mother's tongue only, so she wouldn't lose the ability to speak with her relatives.

"Me too! Me too!" Sairiu chirped.

The girls ate their vegetables happily. Sesshomaru's eyes fell to the hanyou. "She eats well."

Inuyasha paused at being spoken to, "Yeah. I'm happy I don't have to worry about it."

"Sairiu is not the same. She is very selective and refuses to eat vegetables, usually." He stated as he watched his daughter fiddle with some of her food.

"Oh really?" Inuyasha looked at Sairiu picking at different foods on her plate. "Hey princess, you should ask Kiki why she eats so well."

Sairiu looked at Kiki questioningly. "Wanna be strong like Mommy!" She said after she swallowed. "Grandma said mommy a'ways ate vegables an' moved mountain! Daddy strong too. Daddy 'an lift a t'uck! Thhhhiiiiiiiiiiissssssssssssssss biiiiiiiiiiigggg" She stretched her arms out as wide as she could. "'cause it felled on un'c Kouga."

Inuyasha wasn't the only one amused by the little girl's antics. When dinner was over there was more socialization. Kiki hung back as Sesshomaru introduced Sairiu to more nobles and she received gifts. The little princess was bored however and wanted to play with Kiki. Sesshomaru noticed how every few moments his daughter would look at the area where her friend was seated and become a bit more antsy. When it was over he was approached by a noble from the north of his lands. "Hello your majesty. Allow me to introduce my son, Takeru." Sesshomaru looked at the young boy as he stared at his daughter who wasn't paying the two any attention. "Shall we allow the children to run off so we can speak?" The noble suggested. He set his daughter on her feet and she ran off with the boy trailing behind her. They made their way to where Kiki was and the three took off in another direction. Inuyasha had no intent on socializing with the nobles and never intended to. He sat on his phone speaking with his workers about orders, repairs, and general business things. He was here so his daughter could be there for her friend.

Elsewhere, Kiki and Sairiu were having a blast sneaking treats from the buffet table. They hid under the table cloth and laughed together happily. Kiki had given Sairiu her gift and the two looked to be related with their matching white hair, golden eyes, and white dresses. Several other children, aside from Takeru, had joined them. They sat watching the adults do funny and stupid things. A young boy had brought a flower to give to Kiki who merely tilted her head at the gesture. She accepted the flower and continued to play. The boy sat next to her and joined, his carrot orange hair was interesting and Kiki noted he smelled like a canine youki. "Wha'sa name?" She asked.

"What's your name?" Sairiu corrected for her when the boy looked confused.

"Shippo!" He smiled happily.

"Kiki!" Kiki beamed happily.

"Sairiu! Yay!" They all laughed and giggled happily.

Shippo did something and made another flower appear for Sairiu. He'd given them to all of the young girls in the room. He was a few years older than the young girls and said his goodbyes when his parents called for him. Waving happily while holding onto their fathers the best friends decided to continue exploring. They were stopped by a large woman. "Hello little princess. Let me introduce you to my son, Arashimaru."

Sairiu frowned.

"Why don't you children run off and play?" The lady smirked.

The young girls hadn't noticed but their group of children had grown. They all bombarded the young girls and separated them before beginning to pull Sairiu this way and that. Eventually, she fell and teared up. Kiki's face scrunched up in anger, she pushed a few children down and grabbed Sairiu's hand. "Father." Kiki whispered to her. The girls had a new mission, make it to the Lord Sesshomaru so he could scare the children away. They didn't want to play with them anymore and knew the king could help. They began making their way to him but Kiki was yanked back by none other than Takeru. "Le' go!" She was becoming quite annoyed and while the adults found it amusing, Kiki was becoming even more upset. Another kid came and began pulling on her other arm and it was going unnoticed by her own father but not by the other inuyouki.

Inuyasha was sitting quietly until he noticed the king staring at him from a distance. The youki's eyes flashed in a different direction until they returned to him and repeated the action. Inuyasha followed his eyes a noticed what was being ignored. A dark haired boy had his daughters hand and wouldn't let her go. The princess was trying to help Kiki but another kid came and pulled on her other arm. He could tell Kiki would explode at any moment because of how red she was becoming. Just like her mother when she was angry. The adults around noticed at laughed, calling it the antics of children.

Inuyasha made it just a tad too late, Kiki hit a child as hard as she could and pushed another to the ground on top of the one she hit. She broke into tears when she saw him. Hoisting her up she bawled loudly gaining the attention of all the nobles in the room. Hearing her friend crying caused tears to well up in Sairiu's eyes and she began crying just as loudly. Inuyasha sighed and picked her up as well causing shouts of outrage to be heard. Slurs about his hanyou status were thrown about but Inuyasha let them roll off of his shoulders. He wasn't going to sit and let the little girl cry. Guards were approaching quickly as the girls cried. They were holding on to him tightly and his heart began to race when there were guns and spears point at him. Inuyasha growled, "I am holding two crying little girls. The heck is wrong with you morons?" He was ready to lose it and the two cried louder because they were becoming frightened. He tried to calm his youkai so they would calm down as well but had no such luck until the king spoke.

"Stand down." The guards moved away quickly. Inuyasha sighed and bounced the girls lightly as the crowd watched. He hated being the center of attention and felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise when he felt the king come closer. They had never spoken much and he was still having a hard time processing the idea that his daughter was friends with the princess. "Continue your business." Sesshomaru said to the crowd with a glare. Inuyasha tried to hand the girl off to the king but she refused to let go. This is what led Inuyasha to the position he was in now. Standing and speaking one on one with the lord once more. The lord noticed the hanyou looked even better up close, his hair was taken care of and was no longer in that god awful pony tail that looked 2 weeks old and his face was clean, revealing honeyed skin that resulted from his human mother as inuyouki of the region tended to have pale skin. There was no doubt the hanyou was attractive but his hanyou status overshadowed his beauty, at least in the eyes of many. "It is unusual for her to be so comfortable with those she barely knows, and yet she clings to you for comfort." Sesshomaru said watching his daughter snuggle closer to the male.

"Kids just sort of come to me. I honestly think it's my ears though." Inuyasha tried to lighten the mood. The girls had stopped crying but it didn't change their mind about being held. They just started to play in his hair and make faces at one another. A servant gave the girls strawberries to make them feel better which gave Inuyasha leeway to set them down.

"Daddy here!" Kiki exclaimed, wanting him to crouch down. She planted a sticky, strawberry juice filled kiss on his cheek and skipped away with the princess.

Inuyasha laughed and stood. He made eye contact with the lord who was much closer than before. He flinched when the lord brought his hand up and whipped the strawberry juice that was beginning to threaten his white suit. "Oh um...thanks." The hanyou smiled awkwardly, heart racing a bit. When the lord moved away he let out a sigh and watched the lords retreating. "What the hell was that?" He muttered to himself before facepalming.

The night went on as everyone watched the antics of the girls in the matching lockets. They twirled each other around happily as the musicians played, and danced with their respective fathers, who stole fleeting glances of one another unconsciously. By midnight the two girls were out of sight and Inuyasha found them asleep under a table. Heaving both of the girls into his arms, who locked on tightly, a "I believe it is time for bed." Was heard behind him, making him jump as he hadn't sensed the youki's approach. Nodding, Inuyasha silently followed the lord with the girls shifting and making themselves more comfortable.

He was a bit surprised at the home of the lord and doubted very many people had seen it. The girls had woken up and Sairiu happily pulled Kiki to what Inuyasha assumed to be her room. Inuyasha wanted to vomit at how pink everything was. He had walked in to Sairiu forcing a nightgown like thing on his daughter. "Hey princess, I'm sorry but Kiki can't stay the night."

"Please?" He'd never seen another child's eyes get as big and hopeful as Kiki's usually did. What made it worse was when Kiki began to do the same. Inuyasha's eyebrows knit together at the onslaught, his youkai begging him to give in to the children.

He sighed, "If your father says it's okay." Inuyasha usually wouldn't ever allow his daughter to stay the night anywhere, unless it was with Kagome or Sango and Miroku, but he knew that because she was the princesses friend, she'd be protected very well from any harm." The little girls darted pass him and he followed them into an office where the lord sat behind his desk, staring at the two little girls.

"If Inuyasha allows it. I care not." Was the stoic statement.

"Yay!" Was the scream from the two. The girls once again ran past him with Kiki nearly falling because of her enclosed feet.

"Did they get you with the eyes too?" Inuyasha asked casually.

"Sairiu does well with her. She is a good influence." Sesshomaru answered as he went over paperwork.

"Yeah, Kiki talks about Sairiu nonstop. Not even taking a breath to do it." Inuyasha smiled in remembrance of when his daughter initially started rambling about the older girl.

"She is your only child?" Sesshomaru asked as he studied the face of the hanyou.

"Yes, it's hard enough raising one child as a single parent, I definitely would be passed out somewhere if she wasn't." Inuyasha snorted.

"Is that so?" Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow before heading over to the small dry bar for wine. "Would you like a glass?"

"Ah, sure." Inuyasha accepted. He was feeling a bit odd standing with the demon lord. Most people never received the opportunity to speak with the demon lord, let alone have a drink with him and who could reject a drink from the demon lord. They then became quite engaged in a conversation about their respective businesses. The lord had never had an opportunity to talk in detail about his own businesses as his kingly duties were much more interesting to most people. Sesshomaru began and held several pharmacies and hospitals across the country. He was a strong business man and a ruthless leader to his people. Since the former lord had been killed, he didn't have as much time as he would like to dedicate to the legacy he started on his own.

Eventually, the two rose and found their daughters asleep in the princesses bed with a few books scattered about. "This room looks terrible but she was comfortable enough to fall asleep. I might have to do this to her room to be honest."

"It was my assistant. I hate it." The lord stated, the youki wine relaxing him.

"Kiki's terrified of the dark. She can't sleep without her nightlight." Inuyasha explained as he examined his daughters sleeping face under the glow of the glow in the dark everything.

"There is a guestroom available for you for the night. It is late, you've been drinking, and I insist." Sesshomaru said in his deep even voice.

No one refused the king's hospitality. He nodded and was led by the lord to a guest room. The air became a bit tense as Inuyasha noticed the lord staring at him with calculating eyes. He opened his mouth to speak but shut it when the lord began once more. "I hadn't known there to be any other living shiro inu. From where do you hail?"

"Oh, um. I'm from here." Inuyasha stammered a bit, the wine hitting him a bit harder than the lord.

The lord approached with piercing eyes. "And your scent is so very familiar." The lord's lips were a hair's width from his own. He could feel his face flush dark with the force of his blush and his youki flare a bit at the proximity. The lord narrowed his eyes at the shorter hanyou male before retreating with a goodnight. When the lord arrived in his own bedroom he closed his eyes and sighed a breath he had not realized he'd been holding. The hanyou was far below his standards but his InuYouki blood called to him. He was an unmated beta male, a complicated status to have. They went into heat twice a year, once to be mated and again to mate others. The hanyou was close to one of them, he could scent it in his blood. He felt his blood begin to boil and his youkai hovering at the surface of his mind, given a little freedom with the wine. The scent of an unmated beta approaching heat would drive any alpha mad, but his scent was more intoxicating than that. Shaking it away he began to ready himself for bed.

Inuyasha had been frozen by the closeness as well. To have such a powerful youki so close to him was unreal. He didn't know whether he should fight, flee, or lay down in submission. He splashed water on his face before removing his suit and crawling under the blankets of the comfortable bed.

The lord woke the next morning and wandered to his daughter's room to check on the girls. The youngest pup was missing and he felt a small spark of panic enter his chest. He focused and followed her scent to the guestroom her father had been given. Opening the door, he couldn't help the small amused smile that laced his lips. The hanyou lay on his side with the young girl cradling his head. The small pup looked tinier as she curled into a ball as she cuddled as close to him as possible. The lord assumed she must've been anxious without the man near. The hanyou's eyes shot open a second later and he eyed the lord with caution. Sesshomaru could feel the rise of his youki and instincts and restrained his own from challenge.

"Good morning. I had wondered where she'd run off to." He stated averting his eyes.

Inuyasha blinked a few times and understood when he felt Kiki shift in her spot. Carefully maneuvering her to rest beside him he sat up. "We should get going."

The lord turned away from the hanyou, "Stay for breakfast. Allow Sairiu to say her goodbyes."

Inuyasha redressed, woke his daughter, and washed her face. She was a bit upset this morning and wouldn't allow him to set her down without having a fit. "Are you hungry?" He asked as he joined the lord and princess in the dining room. Kiki nodded her head on his shoulder.

He sat her in a booster seat in a chair next to the princess, "No!" She reached out to him and began to cry in her first language. "Daddy no!" Her face became a bit red as she cried.

"Kiki it's time to eat. Don't you think you're being rude to the lord and princess?" He asked from his own seat in her native tongue. She looked at Sairiu then and the King who merely met her stare but didn't calm down. She babbled at him in her mother's language. "Kiki…" She sniffled and hiccupped.

"Papa come back!" The tears really began to flow then. "Papa!" Her cries reached new octaves.

"Sorry about this." He apologized to the lord who continued to watch his daughter cry in his arms. Kiki calmed down after Inuyasha rocked her in his arms for a bit. She ate her breakfast quietly and not with the usually giddiness.

"Kiki okay?" Sairiu asked her friend. Kiki nodded and smiled at Sairiu from the comfort of her father's lap.

"What was that about?" The demon lord questioned.

"Kiki…" Inuyasha sighed, "She's not a hanyou like I am obviously. Her mom was full InuYouki, but she didn't get enough youki when she was first born. So her youki has a bit of trouble connecting with people sometimes. It scares her but the doctors said the problem will correct itself as she gets older and her youki grows. That's why she didn't want to be set down, she couldn't feel my youki and I felt far away."

"I've never heard of something like that happening to a child." The lord spoke softly.

Inuyasha stiffened a moment…the sorrow on his face evident. "It…only happens when there are problems when the child is being born…"

"Problems?" Sesshomaru inquired.

"Ah, sorry Lord Sesshomaru…I'm not really up to talking about it right now. It's…just, really personal."

"I understand. I did not mean to pry." Sesshomaru stated with a sip of tea. After breakfast Inuyasha packed Kiki's things as they prepared to depart. "Perhaps it would be beneficial to set up dates for them to see each other during the break after the parade."

"Play dates? I think they'd like that a lot. Do you want my number?" Inuyasha asked. The lord causally handed the hanyou his personal cell so that he could add his number to his phone. "Alright, we'll see you then."

The two were left the home of the lord leaving the lord and princess watching their backs. Sesshomaru looked down at the small pup who was holding on to his pants leg. "They are interesting, pup." Sairiu looked up at her father then back to the door and gave one curt nod.

When going in to work the following morning, the last thing Inuyasha expected to see was his face plastered all over the news. "So, how's the future lady of the west?" Kouga teased as the news made it seem like he and the lord were dating. They then showed the shop and began knocking. Inuyasha couldn't believe how quickly the situation deteriorated. He and his workers were hiding inside from all of the news vans and camera crews with the news still on. "Many have speculations that this hanyou is the birth parent of the young princess Sairiu. The princess has been seen seeking comfort from him before her own sire. Who is this hanyou male? Has our beloved lord Sesshomaru been hiding his hanyou lover from the public in embarrassment? We have Tom Filan with the story."

"Thank you Akira, I'm standing here outside of the mechanics shop with several other news crews, hoping to get a glance at the supposed lover and secret mate of our king. No one is answering the door and we haven't been able to get a word from anyone. We hope to follow up at the home of the hanyou and get to the bottom of this. Back to you Akira."

Inuyasha growled, luckily his daughter was with Miroku and Sango for the day. "I can't believe this is happening to me."

"Trusted sources say the hanyou retreated with the lord into his private quarters after the presentation of the princess, which brings up another question. Who is the hanyou child she was with all night? Witnesses say the girl smelled of no human blood and was wearing a matching locket with the princess Is the young girl our other princess? Children of the royal family are not required to be presented until their fifth year, she was obviously younger than the princess, who might she be? Many have seen her being quite casual with Lord Sesshomaru, going as far as tugging on his hair for attention, only the child of the lord might be able to get away with such a thing. Who is our mystery princess?"

Inuyasha turned the tv off. "I hope all you fuck-head's know that's bullshit right? I told you Kiki's her friend."

"Sure man, whatever helps you sleep at night." Bankotsu shrugged.

"Man this fucking sucks." Inuyasha pulled a hand through his stressed hair.

"If you and Kiki need a place to stay until this dies down, Ayame and I don't mind." Kouga offered.

"Thanks man, they're literally hunting for me." He paused, hoping his daughter was okay with his friends. The two had been continuously babysitting her at different stages to prepare for their own children. They'd been talking about having another child when their baby was 4 years old and wanted to see how stressful it would be. Kiki was their worst case scenario, she was highly energetic and overly curious about the world around her and tended to wander off and find trouble in the most unexpected of places. He wasn't too worried about them losing her because she knew how to track them down herself but it pissed him off a bit at the thought.

Sitting at the desk of his sparsely used office the knocking finally died down but the noise from the people became much louder. Peeking out of the window he could see several guards from the castle, forcibly removing the news crews. "This is by order of the king. Should you continue harassing citizens you will all be tried for criminal offenses including stalking, trespassing, harassment, defacement, and emotional harm and damages. All punishable by death." The head guard stated. That really got the people moving. Inuyasha had never seen people disburse so quickly. A moment later his phone began ringing.

"Ah, hello?" He answered cautiously.

"Are you alright." A deep voice asked coolly.

"Y-yeah, that was a bit overwhelming." Inuyasha sighed.

"Is Kiki? Wanna talk! Wanna talk! Wanna taaalk!" Inuyasha heard Sairiu whine in the background.

"Sairiu would like to speak to Kiki, if that is alright." Sesshomaru asked for her.

"Oh sorry, she's not here right now, she's with my friends but she'll be back later." Inuyasha apologized and Sesshomaru relayed the message to his daughter who became much sadder.

"You will see her tomorrow at school." Sesshomaru told her but Inuyasha heard a thump and her begin to cry.

This caused him to chuckle a bit, "Can I talk to her for a sec?"

Sesshomaru said nothing and gave his daughter his phone, she brightened right up, "Kiki?"

"Oh I'm sorry princess, but Kiki isn't here right now. She had to go help my friends. Do you understand?" Inuyasha began explaining.

"Yeas…" He could hear the tearful frown on the little girls face.

"But tomorrow, after school, we can all get ice cream and go to the fair. If your father says it's okay."

Sairiu perked up at the mention of a fair, "Okay daddy!" Inuyasha paused, he felt really odd that the girl had called him daddy but realized she probably only knew him as daddy because of Kiki. He remembered Kiki crying when she was around 2, when she learned he had a name other than daddy and her real name wasn't Kiki.

Inuyasha sighed, "Alright be a tough little princess. Can you give the phone back?"

"Interesting choice." Sesshomaru commented quietly, watching his daughter bounce. "It is fine if you take her however her security detail will be increased and the perimeter of the 'fair' will be under lockdown until you leave."

"I expected as much with her being the princess and all. Feel free to join us if you have the time, though maybe that's not possible with you being the king and all…" Sesshomaru listened as Inuyasha continued to ramble awkwardly about why he couldn't join the three at the fair. "…Also, thank you. I appreciate the help."

"You're welcome."

"Alright, I have to go." Inuyasha said nervously.

"Goodbye." Was the cool response. Inuyasha hung up his phone and sighed a bit, lost in his thoughts he ended up blushing alone in his office. "Ugh, I'm such a loser…"


	3. Chapter 3

The girls were overripe bundles of joy, bursting at the seams. When the little girls saw his SUV they both sprinted over quickly with Kiki winning the mini race. Buckling both girls in their car seats, a guard hopped into the passenger seat. "There will be two vans in front and two behind, a helicopter will also be following us to monitor any suspicious activity."

"Um, okay." Inuyasha nodded before they set out to ice cream first. When they arrived, the guards in the other vehicles secured the area and the inside of the shop. He started unbuckling Kiki first while the guard tried to help Sairiu who screamed and began to cry and panic. The young demon looked frazzled and unsure of what he should do. It didn't help that the first thing Kiki did when he set her down was kick the man. "You must not have any experience with children ne?" Inuyasha asked, helping the crying girl.

The guard bowed, "Please don't tell Lord Sesshomaru she cried because of me!"

"Chill, you're just unfamiliar, he said she doesn't like strangers. Isn't that right Saisai." The tearful girl nodded and hugged him closely, resting her head on his shoulder and inhaling his familiar scent. "Alright let's get ice cream!"

"Yay!" Kiki screamed excitedly as she ran in circles around him as he walked with Sairiu in his arms.

The people remaining in the shop gawked and snapped pictures of the three. "Daddy, I want chocolate!" She said in her first language.

"Yeah?" He asked, amused by her excitement. "Sairiu? What type of ice cream do you want?" The girl in question looked at the colorful container, seemingly overwhelmed by the number of choices. She shrugged her shoulders and Inuyasha laughed. "You can pick more than one sweetheart."

"Saisai should try cho'ate!" Kiki said tugging on her dress.

Inuyasha set her on her feet so she could get a better look at the options. She eventually pointed at the strawberry, then again at a green on before looking up at the hanyou. "These two please."

"Alright, Can I have two scoops of chocolate, and one of strawberry, annnndd…" He dragged as he checked the name of the other one Sairiu chose, "one of kiwi?" The clerk nodded and got to work on the orders.

Kiki angrily squeaked, "No! G'een choc'ate! G'eeen!" The clerk paused and looked at her dad.

Inuyasha thought the little girl was too adorable when mad but he understood and could only laugh. He missed the word for mint because of the way she spoke sometimes when she was excited. "My mistake, I meant mint chocolate." Inuyasha rubbed his neck, he apologized to his daughter for mishearing her. Inuyasha gave the girls their treat and pulled out his wallet to pay the clerk stopped him saying everything was being paid for by the king. "Oh, okay…"

He watched the girls chat and share their ice cream with each other while giggling about random things. Inuyasha made sure to bring wipes for when they were done because they were still quite young and could still make a mess. When the girls finished their ice cream, Inuyasha used the wipes to clean sticky faces and hands before waiting for the okay to leave the parlor.

Back in the car and listening to the girls sing songs they learned in class, Inuyasha thought to himself, "I'd love to have another daughter." The princess was adorable, a resembled her father greatly. The only thing that was off was how curly the young girl's hair was, which he assumed came from her mother. Inuyasha had never considered the young girl's mother or birth father, whatever she might have had. He wondered if they were shiro inu as well. His own daughter took after him greatly. Large golden eyes, tanned skin, thick straight hair that demanded more attention than necessary. The drive was a bit long and the girls ended up sleeping in their car seats, checking their sleeping faces in the rearview mirror, Inuyasha couldn't help but smile. Kiki was just a little beacon of light and he was happy to know she'd found someone to be close with in school, and no longer had to worry for her safety when she was away from him. The guard beside him was fiddling on his phone but when they pulled up his entire demeaner changed as the royal guards secured the area. He sighed when he saw people scattering in fright, he hadn't wanted to ruin anyone else's day.

When the okay was given, he turned around to the girls who were blinking awake at the noises and lights. "Here! Yay!" Kiki squealed.

Sairiu looked around curiously at the different structures. Taking Sairiu out of her car seat first, he made sure she was holding on to him as he did the same for Kiki. "Girls, make sure you stay in sight alright?"

"K" Kiki said not paying a lick of attention.

"Yes daddy." Was the princess's response. He sighed a bit, he'd really have to sit down with her and talk about that.

Walking in and attempting to buy the girls wristbands he was once again stopped as the King had already paid for everything and a bill would be sent to him. Inuyasha rolled his eyes, he could pay for ice cream and a fair, it wasn't expensive. The first ride the girls went on was the tilt a whirl, both of them using their demonic strength had the teacup spinning rapidly with squeals being heard for miles. Inuyasha merely watched on the side lines and followed when the two ran off in a different direction. He brought his camera and had be snapping pictures of the girls regularly. Inuyasha watched the girls run up to a cotton candy stand. Kiki reached up and asked for one politely, but the clerk ignored her and handed the older girl one while sending Kiki a glare. Inuyasha felt his blood begin the boil at the crestfallen look on her face. He was about to give the youki a piece of his mind when the older girl asked for another one for Kiki.

"Little girl, why are you with a hanyou." He asked grossly.

"Hanyou?" Sairiu tilted her head to the side.

"I only give cotton candy to full youki." He sneered.

"Kiki is full youki." Sairiu said confused.

"Looking like that I doubt it. Now piss off and take the hanyou bitch with you." Inuyasha begin growling but paused when the princess threw her cotton candy at the youki and called for a guard.

Pointing at him, "He's being mean to Kiki and said bad words to us."

"What would you like us to do with him princess." A guard asked.

The youki visibly began to sweat as he hadn't known the princess would be at the fair today. "Tell father." She said confidently.

"Tell me what?" Was the deep voice. Inuyasha watched as the casually dressed lord approached the situation.

"Hi father!" Kiki squeaked running up and jumping, asking to be held. The lord, shocking many who were viewing, picked her up and allowed her to hug and plant a kiss on his cheek.

"Are you two having a good time?" He asked the wiggling puppy.

"Yeah!" Kiki exclaimed, having forgotten about the situation.

"Sairiu…" Sesshomaru said. The small girls lip quivered and she sniffled as large alligator tears made their way down her round face. Holding her arms up, the lord lifted her as well, and she cried. "What is the matter?" Sesshomaru scanned the area, focusing in on the clerk his guards were detaining. Sairiu pointed at him.

"I haven't done a thing my lord!" He lied quickly. Kiki's ears flatten as she remembered what was said to her.

"Release him and move away." The lord sighed. The guards, while confused, did as the lord said.

All but the king, were surprised to see the man on the ground a split second later, bleeding from and clutching his jaw where teeth had been knocked out. "Don't you ever, speak to my child like that. Do you hear me?" Inuyasha then truly gave the clerk the ass whooping he had coming. The clerk could only look up at the outraged hanyou who's fists were covered in his blood. "Be lucky she's standing right there, or I'd rip your fucking arms off." For good measure, Inuyasha kicked the youki, feeling very satisfied with the sound of breaking ribs. Walking over to the lord while using whipes and water to clean his hands, he pet Kiki's ears and whispered his apologies for not doing it sooner. A guard brought more water so he could rinse his hands of the foul stench.

The lord set the girls on the ground and began to lead them and Inuyasha away, "Kill him." Thrown carelessly over his shoulder.

"Wait what?" Inuyasha stopped and turned to see a guard slice the pleading man's head clean off his shoulders. He turned back and kept his daughter from looking back as well. "Why would you…?" He asked in disbelief.

"Emotional harm and damages to a child...a crime written in law that is punishable by death." Was the lord's response. Every citizen is required to know their rights by the age of 200, when they are no longer deemed a child. He knew it was punishable. Inuyasha paused, he knew the laws, and he knew his rights. They were implemented by the old king before Sesshomaru, Lord Touga. "She is quiet."

Inuyasha looked at his daughter who was walking beside them quietly. Even though there were so many flashing lights and colors to be explored. "Goddamnit…" He cursed under his breath. "Kiki." Little ears perked up at her name and he picked her up, holding her close. Whispering to her in her mother's language he explained that everything would be okay, and that she shouldn't worry about the man's words. "I promise, everything will be okay." She nodded and gave him a bright smile but when he hugged her close only the lord saw the deep frown that marred her face.

In order to get the girls minds off what happened, two Inu focused on the kid ride section. Guards were posted everywhere in sight of the girls so they were allowed to run free. He found himself sitting beside the king on a bench, watching the two. They found themselves conversing once more, Inuyasha found it enjoyable and the King was visibly relaxed as they chatted. The king was smiling with the hanyou, it'd been quite a while since he had much of anything to smile about. He found himself looking forward to their chats as they were quite far away from what would be discussed with his usual crowd.

Sesshomaru watched Inuyasha stand and stretch before saying he'd grab the girls some water and something to eat. While he was gone the youngest of the two girls trotted over and climbed into his lap and looked up at him. Looking down into her innocent golden eyes Sesshomaru realized how much his youki felt it needed to be around shiroinu children. Just being near others of his nearly extinct species brightened his day. Looking up to locate his daughter who was playing a ring toss game repeatedly. "Will father help?" Sesshomaru raised a brow, he'd heard his own daughter refer in Inuyasha as 'Daddy" and wondered if it felt as strange to him.

"If that is what you would like."

When Inuyasha arrived with turkey legs and juice for the girls and himself, as well as the lord, he was amused to see both girls hugging ridiculously large stuffed animals with more piled at their feet. He could only assume the lord could clean each game stand out of all their toys without much effort. Handing the stuffed animals to guards who would place them in Inuyasha's car, the girls gawked at the large barbecued turkey legs. Awkwardly handing one off to the lord, Inuyasha and Kiki made eye contact and took their first bite.

"Yummy!" Kiki piped.

"Ugh, fair food is the best, ne?" Inuyasha said after a particularly large bite.

"Yeah!" Kiki exclaimed between bites.

Sesshomaru and Sairiu were watching the two, before starting on their own, neither having ever had fair food before. Sesshomaru was more than a little surprised at the flavor. The group ate quietly but the two young girls were a bit grumpy when the lord and Inuyasha wouldn't let them ride anymore rides for a bit. To keep them happy, Inuyasha suggested the ferris wheel. Getting into the spacious car was very exciting for the young girls. Inuyasha and the lord sat near the door so the girls could over-looked the fair better. Sesshomaru watched Inuyasha admire the girls with a small smile, when he felt and heard his youki in his head. "…mate…" He closed his eyes and focused on pushing it back down. When he was back in control Inuyasha was giving him a worried expression. "All is well. I am unused to these contraptions. "

"Aw don't tell me the scary king is afraid of the ferris wheel." Inuyasha joked.

Sesshomaru said nothing in return as he considered the hanyou once more. Since the start of the girls relationship he'd not tried anything to get at his position and if he really thought about it, the hanyou had no reason to do anything with or for his daughter, and yet he had. Sesshomaru thought back to her presentation, where youki after youki was using their offspring to try at his thrown. He watched as almost every noble sent their child to pester his own before trying to speak with him and acknowledge how well they "played". The only person his daughter had eyes for was the young girl she was currently watching the sunset with. Looking over and the hanyou again, Sesshomaru's breath caught. The inu was smiling, the warm rays of the sunset catching his eyes and smile. He looked remarkable.

When the day ended, Sairiu left with her share of stuffed animals and her father. She waved happily at her friend and couldn't wait to see her the next day. Kiki did the same from her dad's shoulders with both hands. The day was a success and Inuyasha felt like he could finally breathe, he laughed and made jokes with his daughter the whole way home. Sesshomaru, however, watched the hanyou's retreat with unveiled interest. There was no doubting his interest now, as much as he wanted to deny it. The lord had never met someone he even remotely considered mating. No matter how many nobles threw themselves at his feet he'd never considered taking a mate until now.

It had been quite a few weeks since the two fathers saw each other as Rin would pick both girls up for a few test playdates which were supervised by a multitude of Sesshomaru's most trusted guards. Although they would speak on the phone every now and then. Their topics started on the girls and delved quite a ways away. The summer solstice holiday celebration was approaching fast and Sairiu was able to give Kiki a formal invite to give to her father. The formal invite had 6 extra tickets and a note from the lord. "During Sairiu's presentation, you seemed quite bored. Please, invite whomever you wish." Inuyasha smiled to himself at the considerate words from the cold ruler. Giving tickets to Kouga and his mate Ayame, Kagome, and Sango and Miroku, he was left wondering what he should do with the final ticket and decided to invite Kiki's grandmother, an old kuroinuyouki female. He knew Kiki would be ecstatic to see the woman.

They were once more in Kagome's shop trying to find something for the little pup to wear. Kagome flitted around excitedly. "Summer, summer, summer! Inuyasha you have to match with her! It's just too cute!" Kagome stopped and clapped her hands together, "I know!" She darted around the section that held her most expensive kimono's and held up a red one peppered with listless flowers and petals. "A rose for her hair, tied into a braided bun, she'll be the center of attention." Kagome said happily. After everything was picked out Inuyasha headed home with his daughter as she bounced happily.

"You must be excited?" Inuyasha chuckled.

"Yeah!" She chirped happily. "I can't wae' t' see Saisai!"

"Hey, why do you call her Saisai?" Inuyasha asked, never haven given much thought to the nickname.

"'Cause Kiki is Kiki, Saisai has to be Saisai." She explained with a thoughtful expression.

"Ohh, I get it." It took him a moment to understand what she was trying to explain but realized how adorably clever his daughter was. "Also, promise not to get in trouble at the celebration?"

Kiki nodded with a smile, "She promises!"

"'I promise', honey." Inuyasha corrected.

"I promise." Kiki nodded knowing that's what she'd meant.

"Come on, let's get you ready for bed, then tomorrow Kags will come over to help you get ready." Inuyasha said as he unlocked their front door.

Inuyasha was expecting it, he really had been. The velvet ropes kept the public out but they went wild when they saw him and his daughter. Kiki had once again been dolled up with red liner for false markings on her cherub face. She was mesmerized by the crowd as Inuyasha made his way into the gated face with his head held high. The lord caught his attention first, he wore traditional youki armor and a pure silk white hakama and koside()))()()()()()(. He was holding his daughter who had been just as dolled up as Kiki, who wore a white kimono. When the two spotted one another loud squeals of excitement were heard. Setting the girls down the two met halfway and hugged before running off hand in hand to play festival games under the watchful eyes of the guards.

"It is good to see you again Inuyasha." Sesshomaru said approaching the hanyou.

"You too my lord." Inuyasha replied politely.

"Formalities are not necessary. You may call me Sesshomaru if you wish." The king insisted.

"Alright then…" Inuyasha smiled, rubbing the back of his neck. He and the king could see the eyes on them as they interacted. The nobles whispering to one another about the two.

"Inuyasha~!" Inuyasha looked over at the shout of his name. Kagome was waving whilst standing with the rest of their friends.

The two inu watched them approach cautiously. The youki bowed to the lord immediately while the humans followed their example. "These are my friends that I invited. Everyone, this is lord Sesshomaru." They said their greetings before sauntering off to do as they pleased, the icy presence of the king hurried their departure.

"It's been a while, Yaya." Inuyasha winced at the unwanted nickname.

"Same to you, baba." Turning to greet the woman with a half-hearted glare, he was a bit surprised when Sesshomaru greeted the woman first.

"Lady Kyoge, it is a pleasure to have you visit the country." Sesshomaru said with a small bow. He hadn't invited the woman and wondered her connection to Inuyasha.

A squeal was heard in the distance, and an excited pup came barreling into the woman. Kiki was speaking rapid fire to the woman she was so excited to see. Sairiu hid behind her father and watched. "Lady Kyoge is Kiki's grandmother."

"This unruly young man was able to win the heart of my youngest and only daughter. He is so unfair to me my lord!" Lady Kyoge dramatized, earning Inuyasha's leveled glare. "Oh, might this be the princess?" The girl in question shied away further.

"Saisai, it's nana!" Kiki giggled happily.

Excusing himself, Lord Sesshomaru left the small family to their own devices and began making rounds to greet the nobles. Surprising enough, Sairiu tagged along, holding his hand and glancing at her friend every now and then. Ordering Rin to take care of Sairiu for the remainder of the night the lord was forced by social code and conduct to sit with the other lords and drink. He hated hard liquor but to refuse would be a sign of weakness. Round after round they drank, the only sign of the lord being remotely intoxicated being the barely visible blush on his cheeks. The lord sighed, knowing he'd be there for quite some time.

Elsewhere, Inuyasha was playing various games with his friends and enjoying the festival food a lot more than the one held in town. Kiki had run off with Sairiu and Rin and he knew there were thousands of guards around so he wasn't too worried for her safety. He was, however, worried about his own sanity. The old woman was driving him up the wall. While she held the youthful looks of a youki her demeanor spoke of her age. "So my dear yaya, when are you going to take another mate? I want more grandchildren." Inuyasha rolled his eyes. The woman had basically adopted him and pestered him all the time for more grandchildren, which he wasn't going to produce anytime soon.

"When hell freezes over baa baa." Inuyasha snipped. "Isn't Kiki enough? You'll hurt her feelings."

"Oh please, she knows her nana loves her greatly. She'd have a playmate or two." She continued. Inuyasha groaned. "Come now, my second oldest is looking for a mate. You two are perfect for each other."

"How many times do I have to tell you? The only one of your kids I was interested in was Hishime." Inuyasha groaned.

"That hurts Inuyasha." Was a rumbling voice.

"You didn't…" Inuyasha sighed.

The brutish older male latched onto him. "Come on, a beta like you needs a strong alpha to care for them."

Inuyasha pushed him away. "Piss off, Ryoumu."

"You wound me. After all, I saw you before Hishime."

"Whatever." Inuyasha was growing upset with the talk of his mate.

"Where's my niece then? Has everything been okay with her condition?" He asked seriously.

"Yeah she's fine. She started school this past year."

"Whoa! She must have grown so much since the last time I saw her!" Ryoumu exclaimed. "But hey, I heard there's a little something between you and the Lord Sesshomaru. What's that all about?"

Inuyasha opened his mouth to deny and insult the youki but he wasn't expecting the urgency in which said youki lord was approaching him and his extended 'family'. "I need to speak to you." The words were a tad slurred and the youki seemed to be trying to focus with a little too much effort. Inuyasha could smell how drenched in alcohol the lords scent had become.

"What's going on?" Inuyasha asked as he and the lord moved to a more private area to converse.

"I cannot focus currently due to those buffoons need to drink so excessively. I cannot smell anything other than alcohol. I have not seen my daughter or my assistant, being that you're one of the few people I trust her safety to I am asking for your assistance. I would normally ask a guard but Sairiu doesn't like being touched by unfamiliar people as you know." Sesshomaru explained with slurs.

"Okay, I'll look for them. Are you sure you shouldn't sit down or something?" Inuyasha asked noticing the slight swaying.

"I'll be fine." Sesshomaru assured, focusing in on the lips of the shorter male.

Inuyasha looked around and began in one direction. He'd seen Kiki run off with the princess when she was over her grandmothers cuddling. Following his daughters scent, he picked up the princesses as well. This brought him to a large and decorated tree. "Girls?" He watched the assistant looking frantic while holding three kabobs stuffed with various cooked meat.

"Ms. Rin?" He called. She darted over and began to apologize and cry about losing sight of the girls. He didn't do well with women, especially when they were crying but eventually calmed the young lady down. Holding his finger up in a shhing manner he then pointed into the canopy where the two girls had fallen asleep on thick branches.

Jumping into the tree himself, he gathered the two and gently jumped down. The girls latched on as puppies do and he told Rin that lord Sesshomaru asked him to retrieve her and that she could do as she pleased. Jumping with joy the young lady ran off to where a guard was standing and began speaking with him happily. Inuyasha chuckled and made his way to where the lord sat. Not missing all the eyes and the whispers about him holding the princess and his daughter. Sesshomaru stood with concealed difficultly, Inuyasha said his goodbyes to his friends and went to the tower with the lord. The ride was quite long and the lord looked as if he would vomit at any moment. When they entered the lord's home he collapsed onto the sofa of his living room while Inuyasha changed and tucked the girls into bed. Hurrying into the kitchen he grabbed a few water bottles and set them in what smelled like the lord's bedroom. "Sesshomaru?" He shook the lord back into the waking world and assisted him to his bedroom. The alcohol was hitting in full swing now and the lord's steps and breathing were labored. "Are you going to vomit?"

"Hopefully not." The lord answered. Judging from the look on the lord's face, he was definitely going to vomit. Inuyasha hurried to the nearest bathroom where the lord crouched and emptied his stomach. Holding the lord's silky hair out of the way as he retched. He rubbed the lords back out of habit, seeing as he's had to do this for more than one of his friends, pointedly thinking of Kouga. When he finally had nothing left to vomit, the lord took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Thank you." He said taking the water bottle Inuyasha was offering.

"Do you want to try eating something?" Inuyasha asked, his worried tone both surprising and annoying the drunken lord who stood to brush his teeth. He allowed the hanyou to lead him to his own kitchen where he began shifting around to find something that could be made quickly. Sesshomaru watched the cute hanyou work before realizing his thoughts had took a turn for the worse. He found it hard to care with the alcohol flowing through his system. He watched Inuyasha's clear face and white hair flow this way and that as he cooked something that would be easy on his assaulted stomach. Eating the food slowly, his eyes were fixated on the fidgeting hanyou.

"Why are you doing this? What do you want?" The lord asked. Sesshomaru had learned a long time ago that no one did anything for free.

"I don't know. Maybe I'm not the type to leave someone to drown in their own vomit. You should learn to pace yourself. Or learn some damn manners." The Inuyasha retorted.

Sesshomaru said nothing in response and simply stared at him as he ate. The stare was pretty intense for how drunk the youki was currently. He eventually looked down at his food, "I hate hard liquor." Inuyasha was wondering if he was truly witnessing the youki pout like a child.

"Then why drink so much." Inuyasha asked curiously.

"If I don't I'll be seen as weak, if I don't keep up I'll be seen as weak, and if I can't hold it down and stay cognitive it could be bad for the country." The lord sighed.

"Sounds really complicated and annoying." Inuyasha frowned.

"You have no idea." Sesshomaru said, finishing up his food. Inuyasha helped him to his bedroom where he collapsed onto his bed fully clothed. Helping the lord undress, once more Inuyasha was much too surprised to smell the strong arousal coming from the lord. The lord grabbed him, pinning him to the bed and looming over him. "You're a beta male, I smell your heat." This caused Inuyasha to stiffen. "A few days? …I…can't focus."

"Um…Sesshomaru…you're making me uncomfortable." He tried.

"You annoy me…" Were the cold words from the youki. Before finding the hanyou's lips with his own. Inuyasha was taken aback but accepted the kiss. Sesshomaru's lips moving roughly against his own, hands exploring his body. Inuyasha's blush was intense, as he'd never imagine the lord being interested in him this way. His eyes widened when the thought of liquid confidence rolled through his mind. Sesshomaru broke an intense kiss, "Inuyasha." he whispered, going for the hanyou's neck and bring the Inuyasha out of his stupor. Leaving markings that would be visible for quite some time, the youki ground his hips roughly into Inuyasha's. The hanyou could feel his member waking as a clawed hand trailed down and caressed his hardening length.

"Wait stop. Stop stop stop. You're too drunk right now." Inuyasha tried in vain to push the drunken lord off of him. He didn't want to end up pregnant with the lords child, he couldn't deal with another pup or worse pups. Ignoring the words of the hanyou the lord began to undress him forcefully. Inuyasha fought back as best he could but it was much harder than it would've been previously had his heat not been approaching. He was no omega, Beta's possessed the strength of an Alpha but the control of an Omega, usually. Right now, it was biting him in the ass with the drunken powerful youki on top of him. The lord had him down to his last defenses, his boxers. The older man's youki bared down on him pushing his own into submission.

"You can't…you have to stop…fuck!" Inuyasha tried to push the lord away again with his diminishing strength. The last thing he needed was to go into heat early, get pregnant by the lord, and have another child to worry about. The lord knew what he was doing, his talented hands pulling the noises out of the hanyou like the notes played from a piano. Stroking his length roughly, the blushing face of the hanyou egged him on. "I said-!"

"If you keep shouting, you'll wake them up." Sesshomaru grinned sadistically. Inuyasha's eyes found the open door and he glared at the lord. Grinding and rubbing their hardened lengths together, Sesshomaru fisted them both. Inuyasha's hips reluctantly began moving along with the lord's. The pressure was too much for the hanyou who was nearing his heat cycle and he felt so close. Quite a few more thrusts and the hanyou bit his hand to contain his voice as he came. A few tears pricked at the corners of his eyes from the intensity of the orgasm. He finally came to his senses and pulling a hand back, Inuyasha smacked the lord as hard as he could across the face. "Let. Me. Go." The lord was stunned. Inuyasha's hand print bright and obvious to the world. It'd been a while since anyone could or even had the audacity to lay harm to his body. Looking down at the hanyou who was flushed and leaking cum the lord lost consciousness and collapsed.

Inuyasha sighed, "You gotta be fucking kidding me." He wanted to beat the shit out of the lord. Strangling him like this would be so easy and so simple but he knew that if he did that he'd be executed and his daughter would be hurt. Shifting to dislodge himself from the sticky mess the lord had made their chests into, the lord's arms wrapped tightly around him. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and struggled with the iron grip for most of the night.


	4. Chapter 4

When Sesshomaru woke the next morning, he was more comfortable than he'd been in such a long time. He couldn't even remember being as relaxed as he was before the death of his father. Shifting to stretch, he hadn't realized there was a being underneath him. Looking down he paused in shock. The puppy eared hanyou was sleeping peacefully. Sesshomaru swallowed. He couldn't remember what happened past the ride to his home. Cursing and thinking of creative ways to have the other lords assassinated, he pulled a hand through his matted hair he let out a deep breath. His eyes trailed from the hanyou's face and down his naked, sticky mess of a body. As he stared at the man below him his thoughts were racing, wondering what would lead them to where they were now and hoping to god he'd not taken the man. A sex scandal was the last thing he needed. Rising and going into the bathroom adjoining his room, he began showering to clear his thoughts, but the main thing occupying those thoughts were the hanyou, who was naked and sprawled out on his bed. Sesshomaru could smell his heat upon him and wondered if he should wake the sleeping man. His heat was calling to him but he couldn't decide that for the man. He let the hot water caress his body, relieved he hadn't mated the man. This is what led the youki to weighing the pros and cons of mating the hanyou. Any children produced from such a union would be full shiro inuyouki, the man was powerful, good with children, self-reliant, dependable. His hanyou status would be a problem though, for quite a few people. He could tell by what youki the man did have that he was far more powerful than the simpering omega's and betas that threw themselves at his feet. Then there was the matter of his sire, should they show and prove problematic, there were certain claims they could get through their union that could start severe problems.

The youki was undeniably curious as to what lead them into bed together. Drying and dressing he left a note for the hanyou to shower and went to wake the children up. Breakfast was served with each little girl receiving a short stack of pancakes with a variety of meat. Sesshomaru went through his schedule for the day and sighed unhappily, he'd much rather watch the children than deal with the day. Both girls had been bathed and dressed, Sairiu wearing a white sundress and Kiki in adorable white overalls with a red t-shirt. Rin clasped her hands together as she watched her handy work. "Daddy?" Kiki tilted her head, using her nose.

"He's still sleeping. You can go get ice cream with Rin and I'll wake him up." The pup nodded and the three set off with a multitude of guards.

Sesshomaru sighed and made his way back to his bedroom where the scent of a beta in heat was strong, making it hard for Sesshomaru to focus. The shower was running but the amount of youki pouring into the atmosphere was threatening. "Inuyasha. We need to talk." The shower stopped and the youki increased exponentially, signifying that the man's father had to be a extremely powerful youki. Inuyasha appeared in the doorway with a towel around his waist. He appeared calm and approached the lord quicker that the lord was ready for and hit him in the face. The hanyou stood above the mess of hair and legs the youki became, growling before a tussling match began. Inuyasha throwing as many punches as he could while the lord tried to pin him. The youki's powerful aura filled the room, causing the hanyou to take a momentary step backwards.

"I don't have shit to say to you bastard!" Inuyasha pushed his aura against the kings in challenge and growled loudly in defiance.

"…powerful…" The demon lord whispered to himself. "I am unsure of what transpired exactly, but I am sure of one thing." In a flash, he was in front of the dripping hanyou. Cyan and red eyes meeting the hanyou's gold, "You will be mine." The lord could no longer stop himself. The hanyou's heat was strong and scented of promises to come.

Inuyasha sense the shift in the aura and the youki's intentions. Looking around, the paint was being peeled from the walls due to the high levels of energy in the room. While Inuyasha had pursued his mate in a mating chase, he'd never been pursued. His thoughts found his daughter and he swallowed thickly. She's with the princess, hopefully she'd be fine. He didn't want to mate with the lord but usually his youki would reject the chase and Inuyasha was internally screaming at his youki for accepting the proposal. The chase was a 'catch me if you can' sort of deal, that ended with a battle. Should the pursuer win, they mated, if not, the pursuer could no longer chase them through instinct. Inuyasha was unsure about the lord who had both speed and breeding on his side. The lord smirked dangerously, "You'd better get moving Inuyasha." Looking at the demon lord in utter horror, he took off, which was the tipping factor of what would be known as, "The Greatest Mating Chase". Inuyasha took a chance and threw himself off of the balcony, which was several meters off the ground. He lost his towel on the way down but thanks to his youki he was able to dart off unharmed. Back in the towers, Sesshomaru watched his mark run. The kingdom would receive a new ruler this day.

Inuyasha was incredibly pissed off. Here he was peeling through the streets of the city at full speed, pulling stunts he hadn't done since he had become a father, naked. He could feel the lord behind him, and while his youki accepted the challenge he'd be damned if he took a mate. He just really wished he wasn't naked. Inuyasha was growling loudly as he finally broke into the woods, his element. Finding the nearest body of water, which was the river, he took a deep breath and began to swim with everything he was worth. The water would throw the scent trail off. He needed to get out of the country if he had any hopes of escaping the lord. After swimming for a few miles, he darted out of the water and into a nearby cave to breath. He could feel Sesshomaru pursuing him a few miles away and started running again praying to god the lord wouldn't catch him. Taking to the trees would be an unexpected turn the youki wasn't ready for. Inuyasha heard a helicopter behind him and would fucking kill the person in it. Inuyasha ended up throwing himself off of a cliff and used his youki to cushion the fall. The only thing Inuyasha could think about was how mad he was currently. How dare the lord start this? His youki was ignoring his questions about why it accepted the challenge. When he could barely sense the lord, he stopped again, snatching up a few rabbits he devoured them bones, fur, and all as his youki needed it to recover.

Even though he couldn't sense the lord, he had no plans of stopping until he was in another country. When the lord's youkai realizes his lost, he'd come back and kick the lord's ass. One of the main things he needed to do was find a phone and call Kouga, to organize his arrangements overseas. For now, he was heading to Hishime's relative's homes, the one's he was cool with.

What Inuyasha thought would be a relatively simple chase turned into something much more dramatic and unnecessary. For a week, the lord pursued him. Inuyasha had never felt more disgusting. He'd made it to the mainland of the country and the ancestral home of the shiroinu youki clan. He was passing through when the dangerous youki king burst through some ruins, looking wild. Inuyasha didn't bother looking back as he took off once more, he felt the youki hot on his tail as they ran through the grave yard. Old tombs were crumbling while the newer ones stood proud. Inuyasha jumped up and sent Iron Reaver Soul Stealer. It hit the lord who had not been expecting it. Inuyasha heard a helicopter once more as he realized he had no choice but to fight the lord he'd been running from. "You're very good Inuyasha. Give up."

"When I'm burning in hell." Said the hanyou who readied himself. He was already feeling like he was in hell with the burning from his heat slowing him and making it difficult to move much.

The lord charged and the two began to go at it, toe to toe, blow for blow. Sesshomaru was breathing heavily, he hadn't expected it to be so difficult. The hanyou was good at covering his scent and leaving trails that lead to nowhere. Mating chases usually lasted for a maximum of 2 days but Sesshomaru got whatever he wanted, and had no plans to give up the hanyou. The scent of his sweet heat fueled his youki. It youki needed to mate the hanyou, for their sanity. Inuyasha dodged many of his attacks and the youki was reluctant to use his whip on the hanyou because it could be more damaging than necessary. This is why Beta's were so hard to mate with. Sesshomaru thought that the heat would slow him or at least his human blood but at this rate Inuyasha could take on many of the lords and lady's that ruled today. This meant he could protect himself and protect their pups. With renewed determination Sesshomaru came in harder and quicker than before. Inuyasha jumped back out of his vicinity but landed on weak ground which broke. Screaming as he fell, Inuyasha landed on top of the large skeletal remains of an inuyouki. Hearing a buzzing, he looked up to see a rusted sword jutting out of the skull of the beast. Curiously grabbing the hilt he pulled it from its place and admired it a moment before his senses kicked in and he dodged an oncoming attack.

"So, you've found my father's grave." Sesshomaru's eyes widened when he saw the hanyou able to hold the Tetsaiga. "Impossible…"

Inuyasha wasted no time jumping from the confined space to better protect himself. In a flash the sword had transformed and bristled with power. Sesshomaru smiled, if that was how it was going to be. The lord released his contained youki which consumed him, transforming him into his truest form. Inuyasha gawked in shock and the great inu attacked. This went on for quite a while until Inuyasha felt the sword pulse. Without thinking he used the powerful attack to sever the lords left arm. The lord began to fall out of the sky, transforming as he fell, he and Inuyasha made eye contact and the blood loss causing the youki to go pale before blacking out completely. Inuyasha stood in shock and his youkai wailed in his head. "Did I just kill the king?" Inuyasha felt his stomach drop as he scrambled to help the lord.

He found the lord in a large crater where his stump of an arm was bleeding profusely. Inuyasha felt the claim and proposal fade and sighed. "You're a moron." Knowing that youki body parts can reattach themselves, the exhausted hanyou began to search for the lords missing arm. He was a little grossed out about touching it but knew the lord could die from blood loss if he didn't. Returning to the lord who remained still, he watched as the arm began to reattach from the inside out. When it had almost completed, a scar was left. Inuyasha felt bad for the lord and checked his heart beat before running off and catching something for him to eat. When he returned, the lord was sitting upright and growling as loud as he could in his state. "You're really hurt, I just brought something for you to eat." The growling died down and the lord glared at him. It was borderline pouting, "No need to be so butt hurt. You lost, get over it." Inuyasha sneered.

The lord began to devour the rabbits that he brought, keeping his eyes on the hanyou, should he try something. "I won't give up." Was his slow voice.

"You can't chase me anymore. One and done, that's how it works if you didn't know." Inuyasha rolled his eyes. If you wanted to mate someone you had ti earn it, the chase and fight were purely instinctual.

"Make no mistake, you will be mine and no other's." Was the quick answer.

Inuyasha groaned. "You're sitting in a pool of your own blood and you still want to mate with me?"

"Even more so now." Sesshomaru grinned darkly.

"I think the blood lost is getting to you. We should get you to a hospital." Inuyasha sighed, helping the lord to stand. Awkwardly, he held on to the sword and the lord as they walked to the nearest town.

"You can wield the Tetsaiga…" Sesshomaru whispered, eyes locked on the sword of the old king.

"It's your father's sword, right? Um, sorry about taking it. I'm not a grave robber." Inuyasha tried joking to lighten the mood.

"You shouldn't have been able to touch it. None other than my father should be able to. It rejects everyone, even myself." Sesshomaru explained agitated and the hanyou's heat in proximity didn't help his agitated state.

"Really?" Inuyasha stared at the rusted blade. "I can hear it talking to me."

"Interesting." Sesshomaru watched the hanyou's face closely, hearing the helicopter above them.

A few days later they were back to the capital city and Inuyasha was reunited with his little ball of sunshine. Sesshomaru was still recovering from the severe blood-lost and stayed in a hospital for a bit longer, leaving Sairiu in Rin's care though they visited often and brought him flowers. The lord allowed the hanyou to keep his father's sword for now, as the first of all the gifts he'd give the hanyou. Sesshomaru could see the sweat from the hanyou's heat beading and falling down his face. The hanyou looked completely worn out and ready to collapse. His youkai's pride was too hurt to act on it even though the scent of arousal and heat was driving the daiyouki a bit mad.

Things had become more than a little awkward and Inuyasha was beginning to be harassed at every turn. His heat went after a few rounds with a friend but his mail box began to overflow with mating proposals from nobles and even royals. Apparently, the helicopter that was following them was from a news station that televised the entire chase and battle. He was pretty sure it hurt the inuyouki's pride that everyone knew he'd failed at his first mating attempt but that wasn't really the youki's fault. Inuyasha just genuinely had no interest in having a mate, even though his youkai said otherwise. Even though truly, he had no qualms about being the lords mate, sort of. His focus in life was raising his daughter well. More than once he received invites to events much like the ones sent from Sesshomaru but he tossed them all. Even the alpha's that worked for him began eyeing him differently. In their society, beta's usually mated other beta's. That's how it was with he and Hishime. They'd met in school in the time that his mother was alive. She and her siblings were some of the only youki at the school that treated him decently. When his mother died and her relatives abandoned him, he was forced into an orphanage but the girl had kept contact. When they were older they saw each other more often and when they became of age Inuyasha sent out the proposal and Hishime agreed. That night ended with the two of them tangled and rutting in a field near the river. He remembered learning about Hishime's pregnancy and immediately getting his shit together. Learning about business and putting his talent to use in order to provide for his family.

Inuyasha smiled as he reminisced. He remembered how angry Hishime was during her morning sickness and how she threatened him.

"Inuyasha! I swear once this pup is out of me I'm gonna pump you full of my pups! I'm never being the pregnant one again. Blehhh…! I'm gonna make you have at least 27! Even if you're pregnant for 30 years! Blurgh..! This. This is all your fauuuult." She began to cry from the pain of dry heaving.

"Yeah I know, I know. You can get me pregnant as many times as you want. Hahahaa!" He couldn't say it with a straight face as he laughed at his mate's threat.

"Inuyashaaaa!" She continued to cry, before her mood changed and she was hitting and whacking him. Not hard enough to hurt but enough to get her point across. Inuyasha thought she was too cute with her puffy red cheeks.

He brought her water and a few saltine crackers as usually when she puked she craved salt. "I'm sorry Hime."

"No you're nooot." She cried. He wanted to call her emotional but he knew it was the hormones and the joke would not be appreciated at the moment. She began crying in her home language which the hanyou had been studying for quite a while. He nodded and rubbed her lower back where she usually complained about.

Inuyasha snapped out of his thoughts as they began to go down a road he'd rather not think of currently. Kiki came bounding to him in her parade outfit. The parade signified the end of school and the start of summer. He'd been helping her practice the little dance she was required to do as they walked. Inuyasha wouldn't be going and it wasn't just so he could avoid seeing a certain inuyouki, he genuinely had other things to do. Seeing her off at school, he waved as her teacher escorted her in. He and the lord hadn't spoken in quite a while and he felt really awkward about it. He hoped it wasn't affecting the girls too much.

The parade was one to behold. All of the schools and organizations in the city came together for this parade. The only difference being that the young princesses school having a float where the princess sat and the other students walked and danced beside. Sairiu was having fun waving at all of the people under the watchful eyes of guards. Kiki was having fun showing off the multitude of steps she'd learned and that her father had been helping her practice when something caught her eye. It was red, bright and moving very quickly near the river. Being the curious puppy that she was, she slipped the watchful gaze of her teacher and began to follow it. It looked like a bird but Kiki was sure it was not bird she'd ever seen before. Sairiu noticed that she'd ran off and tried to follow her but the guard standing with her stopped her. She slapped his hands away with a growl and was trying to get to her friend. Kiki was doing something she shouldn't. The bird like creature that had caught her attention was floating in front of her, it was bright, and very hot. Yet, Kiki wasn't afraid as she reached for it but when she grabbed it, it disappeared and she fell with a splash.

Sairiu screamed bloody murder when she fell in. "Father! Father! Father help!" She cried. The youki king that was seated in a roofless limo was with her in an instant. Sairiu was still trying to escape to her friend and with her father there she was able to dart away. Music stopped, the entire parade stopped with Sesshomaru's growl.

"A child fell into the river!" Was the screech of a woman. Sesshomaru only guessed and was correct when he saw the pup trying her best to stay afloat. The pup began floating on her back, not trying to fight the current and began to cry loudly in a language foreign to his ears. Darting forward and diving in, ahead of his servants and guards, the lord escaped the powerful river with the small pup in tow. She coughed a bit but stopped crying as soon as she was out of the water.

"Our lord wasted his time on a hanyou child? What human wench has lost her bastard?" A higher up of the military groaned.

"Kiki!" The princess screamed as she ran to her father. "Kiki okay?" Lord Sesshomaru set the coughing child down and allowed his daughter to hug her tightly. "Not okay! The river is dan-ger-us! Kiki can't do that!" The lord was amused by his daughter scolding the younger pup.

"No need to worry lord Sesshomaru, we'll take the hanyou from here." The higher up growled.

"You will do nothing of the sort. You will send a few soldiers to find Inuyasha Setsuna and bring him to the Tower, unharmed and treated with respect. Afterword you are to report to my office to discuss your position. Dismissed." The higher up tensed when he got a clear look at the puppy eared child.

"Pups, we are leaving." Sesshomaru turned his back on the pups that hurried to follow. He felt a tiny hand grab his own and looked down to see Kiki looking up at him and holding her hands up. The only reason, he told himself, that he picked her up was because of how she trembled from the cold. It would be best if she was warmed sooner rather than later. When he lifted the child into his arms, quite a few people gasped in surprise at their cold king who paid them no mind.

Inuyasha was fighting alongside Kouga in order to remove the rusted engine of a classic car that had been brought in for restoration. Even with their demonic strength the engine was fighting back. Soon though, the engine lost and the duo heaved a sigh. "Man, fuck this car." Kouga grunted, throwing his work gloves at said car. "Too much fucking work, we need to up the charge man."

"Don't be lazy fleabag." Inuyasha sighed in annoyance. There was an urgent knock on the door of the shop. When he answered, he was greeted by guards of the tower.

"Inuyasha Setsuna?" The guard asked, clearly annoyed.

"Who's askin'?" Inuyasha sneered, throwing the guards attitude back at him.

"Lord Sesshomaru requests your presence in the towers, in regards to your child." The guard nearly growled out.

"Holy shit what happened!?" Inuyasha said in a panic. He knew he should've went along to watch his daughter in the parade, knowing what kinds of mischief she'd get into. He grabbed his coat and keys and headed for the towers himself, not even sparing the guards second glances. Parking his car hap-hazardously he ran into the tower and followed the scent of his daughter. Knocking urgently on the king's door out of respect, the king himself let the hanyou in.

"Down the hall to the left." He said nonchalantly and followed the worried father.

Inuyasha was greeted by two little naked girls splashing around in a warm bath of bubbles while Rin cleaned them. Kiki had the suds on her nose and on top of her hair and Sairiu had a beard. The two girls were giggling and unharmed. Inuyasha let out a deep breath, knowing his daughter was safe. "What happened? Why didn't her teacher contact me or something? You can't just take my daughter without me knowing! I thought something had happened to her!" He shouted at the lord when they were alone once more. Nothing, he thought, could make him any less pissed.

"She fell into the river." Sesshomaru stated, watching the hanyou's face move from anger to shock.

"W-what?" He stuttered.

"Had Sairiu not been focused on her, the river would have carried her away and she might've drowned. Though I must say, she is a smart child. Knowing she couldn't fight the river she merely floated and cried as loud as she could." Sesshomaru explained.

"Oh fucking thank god for Kagome." Inuyasha sank to the floor, his breathing heavy. "Fuck…maybe she's not ready to be in school…ugh…"

"She was chasing something that led her there. Some of the other children noticed it too but she was the only one curious enough to chase after whatever it might've been. However, I do not think it was meant for her." Sesshomaru sighed annoyed.

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked.

"Sairiu is a threat to anyone who may have their eyes on my throne. The world also seems to think Kiki is my child. One way or another, someone has made an assassination attempt." Was the unexpected explanation.

Inuyasha face scrunched in anger, "Who?" He ground out, extremely pissed that someone tried to harm his daughter.

"You need not worry. I have my speculations, once confirmed, they'll be executed." Sesshomaru answered the dark glint in his eye only a preview of what the supposed person had coming to them.

"Who got her out of the river? I want to thank them personally." Inuyasha questioned, intent on giving the person some sort of reward.

"Sairiu alerted me to what happened. No thanks are necessary, it is my duty to all the citizens of this land." Sesshomaru explained.

"How noble of you." Inuyasha said sarcastically.

The lord realized how he actually missed speaking with Inuyasha like this. Speaking with the hanyou was quite relaxing and his youki was purring at the proximity. He considered the hanyou once more as he'd done numerous times before. He was intelligent, a bit plain today, but very diligent. Two blurs of white whisked past them giggling while Rin chased them with fresh clothes. "Ladies please stop! It is improper to run around naked!"

Inuyasha sighed and put his hands on his hips. Kiki knew better and knew she could become sick from doing something like this. He growled and let his youki flare. Kiki stopped immediately and stood before him, fiddling with her hands. Looking up at his disapproving face she began to cry and pull on his clothes while apologizing in her first language. "Don't apologize to me, apologize to Ms. Rin." Sairiu looked on at her friend being scolded and apologizing to Rin. Kiki noticed Sairiu watching as she was being dress and the scent of her embarrassment was obvious. Inuyasha lifted the tiny girl into his arms, "I'm not trying to embarrass you in front of your friend but you know better and I know you do. I expect more from you Kiki. I know it's a lot of fun to play but you have to play responsibly. You're still a little kid and you could catch a cold. Remember that icky feeling?" Kiki nodded but wouldn't look at her dad. She remained quiet but her ears were flicking. "Do you have water in your ears?" She nodded and rested her head on his shoulders. Inuyasha sighed then noticed the princess hiding naked behind a wall. "Princess." She jumped a bit, "You're older and I expect more from you too. Come get dressed and I'll teach you how to help Kiki if she gets water in her ears."

Sairiu nodded but saw how upset her friend was. She bowed politely to Rin, "I'm sorry for running away. Promise not to do again Ms. Rin."

Seeing the older girl apologizing too made Kiki feel a bit better and she knew once the water was gone she'd feel even better.

Sesshomaru observed as Inuyasha explained to his daughter how if Kiki had water in her ears she could become very sick and how to help her dislodge it. Soon water was dripping on the floor and the two girls were a fit of giggles. They ran off to Sairiu's room to play a little longer.

"Thank you though. For saving her." Inuyasha rubbed his neck awkwardly. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost her." The atmosphere became awkward again with the two inus standing together. Inuyasha missed when it wasn't so awkward and he didn't feel like he could cut the tension with a knife.

"Inuyasha. I have my reasons for wanting you as a mate. What are your reservations?" Sesshomaru asked in the silence.

"I just don't want to have a mate." Inuyasha sighed, feeling like he's explained it a thousand times before.

"You say that, yet clearly your youkai wants this as well." Sesshomaru retorted his arm finding its way around the hanyou's waist and his other hand, the one previously severed, angles his face up to meet the lords intense gaze.

Inuyasha used one hand to push the lord away. "No. Because of you my peaceful life has been interrupted."

"What are you on about?" Sesshomaru questioned.

"All of the mating requests and proposals people have been trying to force on me." Inuyasha groaned before glaring at the Lord who started it. The lord quirked a brow. "Every day my mail box at work and home is flooded with requests from nobles and lords and ladies because the fucking proposal was televised. Ugh! I've never been this annoyed with people before. First it was just fucking youki, now fucking humans too! Why can't everyone just go back to hating my existen-!"

Inuyasha's eyes widened at the sudden embrace. "I apologize for causing you strife. That was not my intention. Never before, has there been one I ever considered mating before you." Taking in the hanyou's warmth he continued, "You beat me, that is why they want you. A beta strong enough to best this Sesshomaru is truly one to be had, hanyou or not."

"Agh, stop saying embarrassing things!" Inuyasha tried to pull away from the lord, once more the scent of embarrassment evident in the air.

"Why are you so embarrassed, Inuyasha?" Sesshomaru said with a smirk evident in his deep voice.

"I'm just a hanyou! Shouldn't you mate with a noble or something? Or a princess, prince, queen, whatever?" Inuyasha groaned.

"Why should that matter?" Sesshomaru asked in amusment.

"I don't know? They have the blood for that type of thing, the connections and resources I guess."

"I want you." Sesshomaru brought his lips to Inuyasha's. The small kiss turned searing, "and I won't stop until you're mine." They continued to kiss in the middle of the hall, Sesshomaru breaking the hanyou's resolve slowly and grateful that the hanyou wasn't pulling away from him. He would find out why the hanyou refused to mate him, back him into a corner, and take what's rightfully his. Sesshomaru took in the familiar scent and paused for a moment. His heart began to beat quite loudly as he realized why. Why the hanyou's scent was so familiar. He pulled away and looked at Inuyasha's blushing, upset face. Sesshomaru wanted to tease him but his previous thoughts were much more important. "I am going to ask you something very personal."

"Wha?" Inuyasha quirked a brow.

"Your father. Who is he?" Sesshomaru asked quickly.

Inuyasha froze and narrowed his eyes at the lord before shrugging. "He was gone before I was born and my mom never talked about him, so I don't know."

"I have my suspicions."

Inuyasha's eyes widened a moment. "Why is it important?"

At his question, Sesshomaru smiled. Not a normal smile, it was sadistic, calculating, Inuyasha felt a chill come from the lord. "It'll solve a few problems that you have with being my mate." Sesshomaru brought a hand to Inuyasha's face before plucking a hair from his head.

"What the f-!" Inuyasha stopped himself when he noticed two little girls on the floor, watching them. His face became redder when he thought about what they'd been doing. "Please tell me they didn't see that?" He thought horrifically to himself. "What if it puts weird ideas in their head?" He thought some more.

"Kiki wants a kiss too!" The youngest girl hopped up and ran in front of the lord, stretching her arms up.

"Me too!" Sairiu exclaimed.

Picking the girls up and pecking them both the lord walked away with them in his arms, but not before sending a wink in the direction of the overwhelmed hanyou.


	5. Chapter 5

Sesshomaru eyed the folder that had been delivered to his desk a week after the parade. He had yet to look inside as he was nervous about what the results would say. On one hand, he'd have more than a foot in the door in his mating with Inuyasha and he would be able to keep others away, or he was back to square one. It decided a lot. Sighing to himself he picked up the thick file and opened it slowly. A bright green 'positive' was the first thing to greet his eyes. He shuddered a disbelieving sigh. Previously, he'd plucked a hair from the hanyou and sent it to a lab to be tested. Not only was there another royal, but the lord felt his youkai vibrating in his head with delight. Even if Inuyasha wasn't going to be his mate, the lord realized he wasn't all that alone in the world anymore. He had a brother, an adorable younger brother. Sesshomaru smirked triumphantly as he read the file. His suspicions were confirmed. It explained everything from Inuyasha's scent, to the way Sairiu behaved with him and Kiki. There was no way Sairiu would've been so close to the hanyou without a familial bond. Children were instinctively more sensitive when it comes to family bonds. The door to his office creaked open and a small head of curly white hair popped in. The lord watched his daughter enter the office and begin to wander, "Father, what are you doing?"

"Reading important documents." He answered, watching the girl awkwardly moving around the room, touching things, avoiding his gaze. Her child psychologist said she will fidget because of an anxiety disorder and won't always make eye contact because of the anxiety she feels when around him. The woman had explained to him in detail about how he should interact with her, how patient he needed to be if he wanted her to open up to him. The therapist she was seeing wouldn't reveal much, because he would be killed if he did but had told him she wasn't very active in their sessions but confirmed that her relationship with Kiki has helped them make progress exponentially. He even went on about wondering what she tells the little girl about her past as children tend to share more and they hadn't gotten there yet.

"Important?" She asked, looking at the lord curiously before walking over slowly, standing on her tip toes in order to look at the manila folder.

"Yes, very important."

"Why?" She tilted her head like a puppy.

"Because, this says that Kiki is your cousin."

"Cousin?" She asked. He translated the word into her mother language. "Really!?" She responded excitedly.

"Shall we pay our family a visit?" Sesshomaru asked, causing the girl to squeal quite loudly. Getting her dressed for the day, Sesshomaru felt good. His competition would be removed in a matter of weeks if not sooner. "Sairiu, when is Kiki's birthday?"

Sairiu thought for a moment before smiling up at the man, "June 10th!"

"Perfect." The lord smiled, "Should she have a big party too?"

"Yeah! The most biggest!" She exclaimed mimicking Kiki's gesture for large by stretching her arms all the way out. The young girl had been dressed and tagged along with her father as he made his usual rounds around the Tower before leaving. His employees and congress persons watched as he and his daughter left the Towers. He had a lot scheduled today but this matter was much more important than meetings with boring nobles. He needed to see his family, immediately.

Inuyasha was napping on the sofa while his daughter watched cartoons and had a snack when someone began to ring the doorbell incessantly. Hopping up and scrunching his face at the familiar scents he went to the door. Kiki followed behind him excitedly bouncing and when he opened the door, two girls burst in excitement. All of the hanyou's neighbors were being nosy as they watched the lord from their lands. Inuyasha glared at them as they'd never gotten along and went as far as to try to have him removed from the area. Inuyasha was confused about why the Lord was showing up on his doorstep but let him in. He drew all of the curtains and the residual sleep was obvious on the dressed down hanyou, who wore a tank top and comfortable pajama bottoms. Kiki was all too ready to show Sairiu all of her toys and jungle gym room. Inuyasha had designed the room with how active the girl was in mind. She was running before she walked. Sesshomaru followed the hanyou to his kitchen, "Do you want anything to drink before you tell me why you're here?"

The lord smirked, "Tea. You weren't at work." Sesshomaru had tried to find the hanyou at his place of work but was told he had the day off.

"Right." As he made the tea, Inuyasha felt the lord's eyes on him once more. "So, what are you here for?" Inuyasha was a tad uncomfortable with the way the lord stared. If he was being honest the lord was creepy.

"Am I not allowed to be?" Sesshomaru asked, voice dripping in sarcasm.

Inuyasha sighed, he'd just woken and wasn't ready to deal with the lord's teasing. "What do you want? Seriously."

"I have very important information to deliver." Sesshomaru became serious.

"You could've called." Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Ugh, how do you even know where I live?"

"I'm afraid this is much too important for a phone call. I have solved one of the problems you have with mating me." Sesshomaru smiled, eyeing the hanyou. Inuyasha remained silent, handing the lord his tea before sighing, "Yeah well a new problem has arisen."

At this the lords face fell. "What is it?" Sesshomaru said a bit irked.

"In the real world. For normal people, unlike yourself, showing up to a person's house without prior permission, warning, or release of address information is creepy. You are creepy Lord Sesshomaru. I know our daughters are friends and all but man, it's weird. How did you even get my address?"

"I had a full profile made when our daughters began to become close." Sesshomaru stated, not seeing the problem in what he did. His daughter was a princess and the heir to the country, he couldn't have her being hurt.

"So, on top of creepily showing up to my house. You had someone stalk me. I'm assuming you did this pretty early on, right?" Inuyasha put together, he could tell the Lord had no experience with normal social standards because, Inuyasha assumed, nobility social standards must have been different.

The lord looked completely unfazed. "Where are you going with this?"

"It's a turn off. It's weird. You're creepy. Do I have to spell it out to you?" Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at the hanyou's words. "Whatever. Why are you here?"

"It would seem that we are closer than I first thought. It is simply impossible for you to be a random pup, that one of such a scarce race would simply abandon. Regardless of your human blood." Inuyasha said nothing as he waited for the youki lord to continue. "The hair I took from you, I sent it to a facility that compared it to my own." That simply added a block on how creepy the lord was.

"What?" Inuyasha asked, a bit worried about where this was going.

"Your father died before you were born. He was in a battle with a dragon lord and died in a battle with one of his subordinates after sealing the dragon to the side of the mountain." Sesshomaru explained.

"Okay, I guess that explains a lot about my mom's feeling on the subject." Inuyasha nodded.

"My father, while great was a dishonest man, little brother." Sesshomaru concluded.

Inuyasha only stared at the lord. The silence was loud before the hanyou began to laugh a bit. "You're kidding, right?" The lord said nothing and continued to watch the hanyou process the information. "No freaking way are we related." Inuyasha said incredulous.

"Lady Izayoi of Setsuna. Noble woman, a vista my father visited quite often. An Inuyouki is incapable of abandoning a pup. Had I known of your existence you would've been brought to live in the castle and raised into nobility." Sesshomaru wanted to laugh at the stupefied look on Inuyasha's face but the subject matter was too important.

"Sesshomaru this isn't funny." Inuyasha glared at the lord.

"I am not laughing." Inuyasha wanted to punch the annoying lord.

Inuyasha sat down, "Ha, bastard son of a king, huh? What you gonna kill me or something, now?"

"No." Sesshomaru answered.

"Why? Aren't I a problem now?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yes and no." Sesshomaru watched the wheels turning in the hanyou's head as he lost himself in thought. "My father's infidelity has little to nothing to do with me. My mother might not appreciate you however. Kiki will be presented two weeks from now, and you will be announced as her father and my brother." Sesshomaru finished his tea and stood.

"Wait what?" Inuyasha asked.

"Her 5th year. Her birthday is in two weeks, correct? If you want them to stop harassing you, then we must let it be known. Since you are a child of the royal family, no one is allowed to propose to you without the permission of the alpha. Any invitations must be filtered through the head of the family." Inuyasha took a step back at the darkness in the golden eyes and the criminal amusement lacing the lords voice, as if this was his plan from the start. "And when it is finished, you will live in the Towers from then on."

"What? No way! I own this house, my daughter's been here her entire life. I'm not raising her in some apartment where she can't even run out of the back door to play! I'm not going to be treated like a fucking child!"

"Should you not, it will be detrimental to both you and your daughter. Eventually, others will learn of our connection and cause problems. It will be reminiscent of the attack on her life. It is politics, little brother."

"Ugh, don't say that." Inuyasha groaned. He was still shocked about his connection to the lord but he was unsure about him.

"Why ever not?" Sesshomaru asked puzzled.

"I don't know…we did stuff…I guess." Inuyasha awkwardly scratched his head. He'd made out with his supposed brother…was in bed with him…was nearly mated to him. It all made him cringe even though a part of him knew it was completely acceptable and encouraged in the youki world. He'd been around humans for most of his life, some youki standards were still quite foreign to him, even if he mated a youki.

Sesshomaru merely stared at the hanyou but in his mind he realized he'd become too caught up in their blood relation to one another that he'd forgotten that the hanyou might've been raised around humans for the majority of his life. If that was the case then the thought of mating his blood might have put the lord even further back in his plans. He wanted to facepalm, but held the feeling at bay. "Then we will live at the castle. It's open and safe enough for them to roam free on the grounds." Sesshomaru said as if it was set in stone. "They are princesses and will be treated as such."

"No. Just tear up the files. Burn them, whatever. I don't want anything to do with nobles and royals." Inuyasha refused. "…not anymore…"

"It is quite unfortunate that you don't have a choice in the matter. There is no telling how many people already know. What they might be planning as well. There has already been an attempt on her life, she'd be better protected." The glint in the lord's eye didn't fade as he backed Inuyasha into a corner. There was a bump from upstairs, "Shall we go see the children, little brother?"

Inuyasha grimaced but followed the lord to the second floor and into Kiki's room. The lord marveled at the architecture and strategic placement of all of the furniture in the room. "You would think she was a monkey youki." The lord commented.

"She's really active and doesn't run out of energy as quickly as I would like her too. This helps her burn it all off and get a good night's sleep." Inuyasha explained. "Sesshomaru…I don't want to raise my daughter in court life. I don't think it'll suit her, at all." Inuyasha spoke while watching the girls play. "Kiki is a free spirit…like her mom…" He frowned. "I don't want life to be decided for her…I want her to be happy."

"So, you would deny her the resources and connections she would be able to use and create which would expand her options for her chosen future. There are opportunities for her in nobility that she might not get otherwise." Sesshomaru sighed, Inuyasha only seemed to be focused on his daughter's happiness and not his own as well.

"Where is Kiki's mommy?" Inuyasha caught Sairiu's voice.

"Kiki's mommy went to heaven." Was his daughter's reply. The two lords listened in on their conversation from the door.

"Heaven?" Sairiu asked, unsure of what heaven meant.

"Place for mommies when they can't be 'live no more. When they 'ave t' say goodbye, forever." Kiki explained with a distant look on her face.

"Why is Kiki's mommy there?" Sairiu asked, moving blocks around.

"Because Kiki was born…" His daughter trailed off in thought, which worried Inuyasha completely. It worried him because it seemed like Kiki thought her mom died because of her. "Because when Kiki was born there 'as problems. Mommy wanted Kiki to be okay, so she went to heaven." She started over. Inuyasha sighed in relief. He'd spoken to the young girl and was honest whenever she asked about her mother. "Saisai's mommy?" Kiki asked without looking at the older girl.

Sairiu said nothing, dropping the blocks she pulled her knees up to her chest. "I think my mommy is in heaven too…" Kiki looked over at the girl who had begun crying. "Mama!" She trembled.

"Daddy! Help!" Kiki called as she was unsure of what was wrong with her friend who's attention she couldn't get.

"Mama! I want my mommy!" Sairiu cried in her mother language as her lord-father picked her up.

He held her close as she cried uncontrollably, seeing sights no child should've had to witness repeatedly. The memories etched permanently in her mind. She'd hadn't had a moment like this, usually if she was having an episode she was staring off into space, tearing up, calming down and repeating it several times. Sesshomaru was worried. She cried herself into a coughing fit which made her vomit several times. She continued crying and Inuyasha was at a lost. He'd never seen a child cry so much. Eventually, the poor girl cried herself to sleep, the lord tucked her into Kiki's bed and they left her to sleep.

Inuyasha put Sesshomaru's soiled clothing in the wash, leaving the lord with his confused daughter. "Why Saisai cry?" She asked unsure if she did something wrong.

Sesshomaru patted her head, "Do not worry. You are not to blame." The girl looked at him with curious golden eyes, "Sairiu saw something very bad and quite scary. When she remembers, she gets really scared and cries a lot. Do you understand?" Kiki nodded and Inuyasha picked her up and took her to her room for her nap.

When Inuyasha returned, the air was tense, "I guess they have a lot in common…" Inuyasha sighed.

"What happened…?" The lord asked quietly, knowing that before the topic had caused the hanyou to shut down.

"Hishime died while giving birth to Kiki. It was either her or Kiki…and she screamed at the doctors and me to save Kiki. I tried my best to give Kiki the youki she needed but since I'm not her birth parent…she didn't take to it and what she got from Hishime just wasn't enough which is where her disorder comes from."

Sesshomaru took in the desolate look on the hanyou's face and pulled him close. "I cannot imagine your feelings."

"What about Sairiu's mother?" Inuyasha questioned looking up at the taller male.

"We slept together. She gave birth to Sairiu in secret, I didn't know of my daughter until the week school started. She was deceitful in keeping her away from me and even with her death I am unable to give her the benefit of the doubt." Even the memory of what the woman did made his blood boil.

"Well, Sairiu must really love her, so it's safe to say she wasn't mistreated, right? She was inuyouki, yeah? Her child would be precious to her. I mean…you are pretty scary, there's no telling what you might've done to her." Inuyasha whispered to the lord deep in thought.

"Might I suggest a change of topic?" Inuyasha shrugged, lost in thoughts of his late mate.

The two InuYouki began speaking on a variety of things which eventually led them back to their previous discussion about Inuyasha's rightful place in the royal family. Sesshomaru was eventually able to convince him using the girls. The two would be able to, nay expected to stay together if they were known as relatives and royalty. Sairiu would not be staying in the private institution past elementary level and would be given private tutors, and Kiki would be able to have the same. At the end of the day, Sesshomaru gathered his daughter, and went home for the night. He and Inuyasha would be seeing a lot more of each other in the coming future.

Here he was, holding his dolled-up daughter in front of two large, ornate doors. His eye twitched as he remembered the irksome tactics the lord used to bring him here when he informed the lord that he still wasn't so sure about everything that had happened. The harassment the lord was able to get away with was unbelievable. He even opened up to the tactic lord. The royal orders to appear before him, the temporary laws that obviously targeted him, and the guards, lurking and stalking him. The hanyou tried to contain his building rage about the fact that he was related to the annoying lord. Inuyasha reviewed the tests himself and wanted a second look at it so he sent them to one of his friends who works in the bio-medical field. The paperwork and tests were legitimate and he was the bastard son of the former king, and younger half-brother of the current. "Daddy okay?" Kiki asked in his arms, her dress too elaborate for words as Kagome nearly lost her mind when she learned of his connection to the lord and what changes would be taking place in their lives.

"Yeah baby girl I'm fine." He confirmed before setting her on her feet and explaining once more what she needed to do.

"Kiki a princess?" She asked.

"Yeah, you're a princess." He confirmed with a smile.

"Like Saisai?" She asked again.

"Yeah, just like Saisai."

"So, Daddy a King too?" She asked in her never-ending questions.

"Ahh, no, I guess I would be a prince." Inuyasha thought really hard but really wasn't sure what he'd be called. He gave the guards their warnings about his daughter's safety and went to join the lord in the main room. As he joined the lord and his niece he could feel the eyes in the room boring into him. When the doors opened, gasps were loud and the stares were intense. Kiki looked very anxious with all eyes on her until she saw the three of them.

"Hi Saisai!" She said and waved cheerfully.

"Hi!" Sairiu waved back just as enthusiastic.

"Kyung-Soon Taisho." Sesshomaru announced. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at the incorrect surname. "Granddaughter of the great Inu no Taisho, Lord Touga, now passed." The crowd's eyes widened a great deal as gasps were heard all around. "Daughter of Lord Inuyasha, second son of the great Inu no Taisho. Who is here today." Cries of outrage and 'oh's' were heard. "My younger brother, Inuyasha Taisho, is here today to present his daughter and will be present in court henceforth!" The crowd cheered while a great amount glared. Inuyasha took note of all the faces that seemed even the tiniest bit unhappy at the news.

The small family made their way to their dinner table. Inuyasha sighed and looked at his daughter who sat in her seat without much of an issue. They ate happily and Inuyasha sighed again. Since Sesshomaru made his announcement everyone had made their topic of conversation about him and his daughter. He could hear every conversation at every table and wanted to shout at the morons. When dinner was over and the time for socialization arrived, Inuyasha was supposed to make rounds with the lord and Kiki so she was able to receive her gifts and congratulations. The stares and glares were what Inuyasha was keeping track of, should anyone be bold enough to try anything. Other people, however, found the youngest princess to be so different from the elder. She was bubbly, good with people, and just a cheerful young girl all around. Many men and women in the room were captured by her joyfulness and warmth, asking Inuyasha directly about arranged matings which he flat out declined. His daughter would mate the person she loved as he had previously. Even if love didn't always work out in the way she wanted. Thankfully, there was no drinking component here because it was a children's celebration.

"Oh my isn't this a turn of events! Oh hohohohooo!" The boisterous woman chuckled. "You already know my Takeru, yes?"

The young pup in her father's arms growled at the boy, "Hate!"

"Young princess, that is not very nice. After all, Takeru may be your mate one day!" She laughed some more.

"No. Not gonna happen." Inuyasha refused.

"Oh come now Lord Inuyasha they're only children, things change in the future." She continued, annoying the hanyou further.

"No~!" Kiki whined and complained.

"Mi'Lady I must demand that you cease making the princess uncomfortable with your words. Or I will have to ask you and yours to leave." The cold lord leveled a gaze on the frightened woman who apologized and backed off.

His friends then showed up giving Kiki her gifts and cuddling her as if she was their child, making the guards anxious. Kouga tossed her in the air, pulling squeaks and squeals from her. "Ah man, I can't wait to have a daughter." The wolf grinned as the excited puppy wiggled in his arms. "No fair the mutt got you, huh?"

"Not nice words!" Kiki chastised, pulling on his ponytail and face.

"I know I know, m' sorry sweetie." Kouga laughed. "You're too cute for words, you know that?" Kiki smiled brightly, her smile was all Inuyasha he noted looking over at the well-dressed hanyou. "So, Lord Inuyasha, what's gonna happen after this?"

"I don't even know anymore." Inuyasha sighed, watching Kouga hand Kiki off to Kagome who began fixing her hair before kissing her repeatedly.

Throwing a casual arm around the hanyou's shoulders Kouga watched the gathered crowd with his best-friend. The wolf saw the Lord eyeing them from a distance as he'd been led away by various nobles who wished to question him about his little brother. "I think you should go for it."

"What are you talking about you flea bitten bastard." Inuyasha's faced scrunched up.

"The whole mating thing." Kouga said seriously.

"Ugh…but he's…" Inuyasha started.

"Your brother. So, what. Don't be so human Inuyasha." Kouga groaned. "He's been watching you this entire time. Old dude has it bad." He cackled.

"It's only been.." Inuyasha tried again.

"Five years now…I know." Kouga turned Inuyasha to face him. "But do you honestly, honestly think she'd want you moping around on your daughter's birthday and letting every opportunity pass you up? Tell me, do you really think she'd want that?" They may not always get along but they knew they were best friends, and Kouga wanted his friend to be happy.

"I can't just forget her…" Inuyasha exclaimed.

"And no one is asking you to. It'd be impossible, Kiki is just like her. I just don't want you to be so unhappy all the time, and don't start with that bull about how you're fine because I know you aren't. It's impossible for it not to affect you today of all days." Kouga sighed.

"Kouga, I don't know if I can…"

"Look me in the eye and tell me you're not attracted to him. At least a few dates wouldn't hurt." Kouga challenged. Inuyasha opened his mouth but was cut off again, "I bet you guys have already been in bed together." Inuyasha's face turned tomato red as his friend began laughing hysterically. "You work fast huh mutt face!" Inuyasha growled as Kouga snorted in mirth.

The lord then joined them, glaring at the wolf whose scent now covered his sibling. Kouga held his hands up in defense, "I'm a mated man." He then held his hand out, "We met before, I'm one of his friends." The lord shook with a grip that promised pain. "Wow dude chill. Shit, I'm on your side."

Inuyasha's blush deepened. "Shut up already!"

"Don't get mad at me because you're embarrassed." The wolf continued laughing.

"I hate you so fucking much you annoying piece of shit." Inuyasha growled.

"Aw, I love you too man." Kouga patted him roughly on the back. "But seriously, what do you have to lose? Aside from that reverse harem you have for your heat."

Inuyasha's eyes widened, he couldn't believe Kouga had just said that in front of the lord. "It's not a fucking harem!"

"Yeah just an endless number of fuck buddies, right?" Kouga never knew when to stop talking. Eventually, Ayame caught wind of his words and scolded him as she dragged him away by his abused ponytail after apologizing to the two royals.

"A reverse harem?" Were the lord's words, causing Inuyasha to groan.

"It's a beta thing…not fucking harem…" He sighed, not wanting to explain how it wasn't a harem. Just a bunch of friends that would help each other out now and then.

Inuyasha noticed Sairiu heading towards them quickly. She hid behind their legs and begged to be picked up. When her father lifted her into his arms she relaxed. Sesshomaru scanned the direction she'd come from and a multitude of children heading their way. Sesshomaru glared at the children who stopped their pursuit, some even began to cry. Kiki's squeals of delight could be heard across the room as she entranced many nobles. "Daddy! Look daddy!" She squeaked excitedly in her mother tongue. Inuyasha heard her tiny feet as she darted over. Kiki held up the fluffiest shiroinu demon-beast puppy he'd ever seen. He stared at it for the longest time, he didn't want her to keep it but the look on her face was too much. He'd never seen her shining so brightly and was extremely happy that someone had the sense to capture how happy she was with the flash of a camera.

"It's very cute Kiki." Inuyasha sighed and decided to give in. It could be a great way for her to learn the responsibility of caring for something else, gently. "What are you going to name it?"

"Monshi!" She squealed loudly, the word translating to 'fluffy' in this language.

"Well, Monshi is very cute. Did you said thank you?" He asked.

"Kiki said thank you and she bowed low too!" She exclaimed giddy. "Saisai! Look!" Sairiu watched from her father's arms but flinched when the dog barked and teared up. Inuyasha noticed she must've been too excited to speak any other language. Kiki was confused by the reaction and looked at Lord Sesshomaru and Sairiu.

"It will take time for Sairiu to become use to the puppy, Kiki." He explained wondering who would give such a rare gift to the child. Seeing a floating cow approach, he should've known.

"Now don't you go losing the puppy little girl." Totosai chastised.

"Kiki won't! She promises!" The little girl bowed once more.

"Ah it is good to meet the second son of my late friend once more. You've grown." The weird man eyed Inuyasha up and down. "I haven't seen you since you were her age." He said gesturing to Kiki who sat cuddling the puppy on the floor.

"Do I know you?" He asked, unsure about the weird old man.

"That sword you have, I made it. It's been telling me about you, young man. So, interesting, children having children, back in my day we didn't have kids until we reached our 1000s…." Totosai mumbled as he wandered to a table full of food.

Monshi barked loudly, Sairiu flinched but Kiki barked back at the dog. Sesshomaru's eyes widened, "She is able to speak inu so young?" A young shiroinuyouki puppy wouldn't learn the inu tongue until they went through their first transformation.

"Yeah, it's how she communicated as a baby most of the time. She sounded like Monshi though, it was pretty broken and baby-like. She's much better now."

"Interesting. Sairiu, you're a puppy too. There is no reason to be fearful." Sesshomaru explained to the scared girl in his arms. Though she turned away, she didn't want to get close to the puppy.

The night ended with Sairiu asleep in Sesshomaru's arms and Kiki curled up tightly with her new puppy, with her various gifts scattered around her. Inuyasha sighed, they'd be heading to the castle instead of their home. It was around 3am when they arrived, servants were vibrantly moving around, excited to see the king, his brother, and the two young princesses. Inuyasha was thinking about what Kouga said and thinking about what Hishime would want for him and his daughter and sighed for the millionth time. The lord showed him to the family wing of the castle, they stopped in what would be Sairiu's room and then Kiki's. All her toys and items had been brought, even the jungle gym he'd built into her room. He changed her clothes and tucked her into bed with her new puppy before joining the lord in the hall once more.

Inuyasha looked at the halls, from the architecture to the decorations. "I know it will take some time to get used to. Shall I show you to your room?" The lord asked, also trying to adjust to being in his childhood home. He'd taken to living in the Tower after their father died over 200 years ago.

"Yeah…" Inuyasha trailed off. A lot had happened in the past three weeks and it was taking a toll on his mind. His father might not have been the awful man he assumed him to be and his mother not foolish. His rooms were quite large and all his belongings from his home were there. The bed was ridiculously large and unnecessary. He looked over at the lord who seemed lost in thought, "Okay."

"What?" The lord was pulled from his thoughts.

Inuyasha felt like he was betraying Hishime by even considering re-mating. "We can try it…dating I mean…"

The lord's eyes widened, as he had not been expecting that from the hanyou. "Are you certain...?"

"Ahh, yeah…I've been thinking about it a lot today." Inuyasha was grabbed roughly as the lord connected their lips. The kiss was intense as if the lord was trying to covey his desires through the contact of their lips. The younger's body was pulled tightly against his own as he became rougher before being forced away. "Goodbye Sesshomaru." Inuyasha growled.

The lord paused, watching the flushed hanyou before turning on his heel and leaving the room. When he reached his room, he sat on his bed, breathing heavy. His head hurt as he gripped his chest where his heart pounded furiously in his chest, he'd never felt so out of control of himself before, "What's happening to me?"


	6. Chapter 6

Inuyasha regretted his decision. "Who does shit like this?" He wondered aloud. "I'm not some fucking chick, ugh this is embarrassing." Inuyasha ran a stressed hand through his hair. It'd been 5 days since he'd been forced to move to the castle, though he still worked. The lord had delivered a few thousand roses to his work place, they coated everything. Inuyasha stared at the mess, the lord was over the top. Things like this were not necessary, he felt a headache coming on as his employees laughed their hearts out.

The worse one was Kouga as he howled in amusement. "Doesn't he have a job or a fucking hobby! Damn this is too good!"

"Shut the fuck up bastard! This is your fucking fault. 'Oh, Inuyasha you should just go for it, what do you have to lose?' I hate you." Inuyasha growled as he tore down the roses with his claws. Inuyasha eventually gave up on tearing them all down and ordered his employees to get to work. At the end of his work day he headed back to the castle, which was around a 45min drive away

When he arrived at the castle and passed clearance at the gate, he stretched and headed to his room to clean up, however, he was stopped on his way. "Lord Inuyasha, may I speak with you."

Inuyasha stretched, "Yeah, what?" Inuyasha observed the alpha sigh, wondering what he could possibly want. There was the longest silence before the young alpha turned beet red and looked at his feet. "I wanted to ask you out!?" He nearly shouted, slightly startling the hanyou.

"Um, well, thanks for the offer but I've already agreed to seeing someone…" Inuyasha stated awkwardly, then remembered why he wish he hadn't. "Sorry man."

"It's alright…I sort of expected it. You are a really powerful beta…My name is Hiroki by the way, my lord." He said with a bow.

"Don't call me lord. It's been getting annoying." Inuyasha scoffed.

"As you wish." Hiroki smiled. Inuyasha took in the alpha. Kuroinuyouki, tall, quite handsome. Someone would snatch the young alpha easily, Inuyasha gestured for the inu to follow him into the castle.

"So, what exactly do you do around here?" He asked, still trying to figure castle life out.

"Well, I am a 7th rank, class 1, meaning I could be tasked with duties such as guarding yourself and the children, escorting, sent on recon missions, and things like that." Hiroki explained, watching the face of the shorter male.

"Oh okay, so things of high importance, how many ranks are there?" Inuyasha asked curiously.

"There are 14 in class 1, 17 in class 2, and 12 in class 1." Hiroki explained after thinking about it.

"So, you must be pretty powerful then huh?" Inuyasha smirked at the youki's blushing face. "How old are you?"

Hiroki smiled, "I am happy to say that you and I are the same age."

"We're pretty young to be ranked so high man," Inuyasha snorted, hoping to catch the youki in a lie.

"Not if you have the skill to back it up, I've been training since I was very young." Was Hiroki's reasoning.

"Daddy!" Was Inuyasha's daughter's shrill voice. She came pattering down the hall with two guards trailing her looking exhausted.

"Kiki, it isn't nice to wear the guards out. She's been slipping you guys, hasn't she? Come on there are two of you for crying out loud." Inuyasha stated. He knew when someone lost his daughter, they were usually overly tired and flushed. Inuyasha sighed, and began to pay attention to his babbling daughter."

"Me and Monshi jumped into the pond to play with the fishes, then we got into the kitchen and ate a bunch of paste-trees, then we climbed the taaaaaalllllesssstttt tree, and daddy! It started talking to Kiki! Then I ate a lot of fruit and played with new toys father got me!"

Inuyasha noted how well the private lessons were helping her stop speaking in the third person. This language didn't accept that like her mother tongue did. "Sounds like you had a very fun day sweetheart." She nodded enthusiastically. Inuyasha noted that she didn't mention Sairiu, "What about Saisai, did you play with her today?"

A frown marred her face instantly, "Saisai doesn't want to be Kiki's friend anymore." Kiki extended her arms in a plea to be picked up.

"Aw, princess I'm sure that's not true." Hiroki tried to comfort the girl. He'd been in charge of the girls at one point and thought they were pretty cute and got along very well. Although, children often had their fights and resolved them easily.

"Have you told Saisai that that makes you sad." Inuyasha asked.

Kiki shook her head no, "She always runs away from me." Kiki's eyes became large and tearful.

One of the guards, a beta from what he could tell awed before being elbowed by the other. "What? She makes me want a daughter."

"I want a son." The other rolled his eyes.

"Are you two mates?" Inuyasha questioned, rubbing the back of his saddened daughter.

"Yes, my lord!" The beta male answered.

"What are your names?" Inuyasha asked, he wanted to get to know the people assigned to his daughter.

"I am Mizuko and this is my mate Nagisa." The alpha explained.

"Listen, don't be afraid to tell Kiki not to do something. If she's tiring you out, she must be overly excited and it isn't good for her, she could make herself sick. I glad she's having fun but she's still very young and should be guided." Looking down as his daughter, "Maybe you need a nanny or something. Come on let's go make up with Sairiu." The four inu and beast puppy made their way to the playroom where Sairiu's scent was the strongest. When Inuyasha entered the room her eyes lit up, but when she saw the puppy she begged a guard to pick her up. "Ohhh." Inuyasha nodded, finally understanding. Setting Kiki on her feet, "Saisai is scared of Monshi."

Kiki looked at her puppy, "Why?"

"People can be afraid of things that you aren't afraid of. Saisai isn't scared of the dark but you are. Do you get it?" Inuyasha explained. Kiki nodded. "Can one of you hold the puppy?" Hiroki picked it up and petted it.

Inuyasha picked Kiki up and sat on the floor with her in his lap. "Sairiu come here, I'm going to show you something neat." Sairiu was set down and she peddled over into a hug Inuyasha had waiting for her before sitting beside him. "You know you and Kiki are puppies, right?" Sairiu nodded, fiddling with her hands. "You can become puppies just like Monshi, do you want to see?"

Sairiu looked up, then over at Monshi, nodding a little bit. Inuyasha smiled and stood with Kiki away from Sairiu. He wouldn't let her grow to her actual size, she'd be around the same size as Monshi. Feeding her his youki, Kiki's eyes bled red and her form glowed a brilliant white. When the light dissipated, she was left in her inu form. She barked and yipped and bounced around excitedly, her golden puppy eyes full of joy. Sairiu's eyes were wide and she pointed to herself, "You'll be able to do it too, but I'm not sure when. You have to ask your father." He explained. Kiki bounded over to Sairiu, cuddling her closely. With Kiki's familiar scent she relaxed and pet pointed puppy ears. Kiki whined in approval. Hiroki put Monshi on her feet and the pup raced to Kiki, the two began to nip and play.

"Me too!" Sairiu frowned, upset that she couldn't play too. Inuyasha couldn't help her change because he wasn't her parent. It could be dangerous if anyone but a parent tried to make the transformation happen."

"Aw, c'mon Mizuko, look at them. Daughters are so cute! I can't wait to have a litter! Seeing cute little inu pups running around." Nagisa gushed. Mizuko rolled his eyes, hiding his blush as he too thought about when their own family would grow. The two bowed and took their leave when Inuyasha gave them permission to do so.

"I think I shall go as well, it was very nice speaking with you today my lord." Hiroki bowed.

"Inuyasha."

"W-what?" Hiroki stammered.

"Call me Inuyasha." He smiled. Hiroki nodded and bowed once more before leaving with a blush staining his pale cheeks.

Inuyasha had been following the pups around for the better part of an hour before crossing paths with the lord of the castle. He was in traditional wear and looked a bit worn out. "Hi father!"

"I see you and the puppy have become close." He noted, only seeing that she was holding a white puppy. However, Monshi jumped from the hanyou's side shocking Sesshomaru who merely stared at both puppies. "She is able to transform?" The lord knelt and picked Kiki up from Sairiu's arms. "Hello Kiki, aren't you quite extraordinary." Kiki yipped in response.

"Father me too!" Sairiu begged, pulling on his clothing.

"You are not yet capable of transforming Sairiu. When you are older." He explained.

The young girl teared up and began to cry. "Sairiu too!"

Inuyasha picked the sobbing girl up, "Hey it's okay, everything will be alright. I can't change either."

"Really?" The tearful girl questioned.

"Yeah, really. So, don't be sad, you'll be able to soon. Everyone is different, ne?" He smiled and received a smile and a hug. "Kiki, time to change back and get ready for dinner." The pup barked in Sesshomaru's arms.

Placing a hand on her head, which she nuzzled into, Inuyasha fed her his youki until she was back in her humanoid form. "I'm a little girl again!" She giggled happily. The small family then headed to a small dining area to eat.

"You seem tired." Inuyasha noted to the lord.

"There is a lot of paperwork as of late. You went to work today?" Sesshomaru responded, watch as his daughter ate a strip of raw venison.

Inuyasha's face flushed, "Why would you do something like that? It was so embarrassing."

"Then it was perfect." The lord responded nonchalantly.

"My shop looks like a float." Inuyasha groaned.

"Would you like to accompany me tonight?" Sesshomaru asked after a moment.

"Where to?"

"Out." Was the lord's simple response. Inuyasha's face dusted a light pink before simply nodding, wondering what the lord had planned for the two of them.

After putting the girls to sleep, Inuyasha stood in front of his massive wardrobe in order to find something to wear. He had about as much fashion sense as a toddler. Rolling his eyes, he ended up calling Kagome who had been asleep. "I have a date today and I don't know what to wear."

Kagome sat up and rubbed her tired eyes, "What are you guys doing?"

Inuyasha frowned, "I don't know, he just said out."

Kagome made a sound of understanding, "I hate it when people do that." She groaned, "It's too vague. You could be going out to eat, movies, nature walk, city spree, anything. Ugh." She prided herself on being able to dress anyone for any type of event. "Well maybe we can make them change their mind about location based on what you wear…" She paused and had a thought, "How do they usually dress? Wait who are you going on a date with?" She was suddenly curious.

Inuyasha sighed, "Sesshomaru, he's always dressed pretty formally. Kagome, I don't wanna wear a suit."

"Fine fine, dark jeans, button up and a vest or blazer should be enough. You could always take off the blazer or vest to look a lot more casual. Nice shoes though." She knew what the hanyou looked good it, and casual always suited him a lot better when keeping in mind who he was.

"Thanks, you're the best." Inuyasha smirked as he pulled out the clothing.

"I know Inuyasha, tell me how it goes later."

"Alright, get some sleep. I know you've been staying up every night because of the orders you've been getting from nobles and royals and stuff. Don't let them stress you out." Once it was confirmed that Kagome had been behind Kiki's dresses the nobles started placing very expensive orders. Her small business had gone international in the span of 3 hours. He was proud of her and knew she'd do well.

"Yeah yeah, bye ya ya." The phone clicked and he put his cell phone on the charger as he showered and then dressed. Leaving his hair down, he exited his room and made his way to the front of the castle where Sesshomaru waited, dressed impeccably. Kagome had made the right call. Sesshomaru gave him a rare smirk and led him to classic vehicle. Inuyasha gushed embarrassingly over the car. He'd restored one but not to the freshness that this one had. It was practically new, and Inuyasha could see how well it was taken care of.

"Wow, when and where?" Inuyasha was impressed. He couldn't care less for extravagant gifts but when he saw a car like this he lost it.

Sesshomaru smirked, remembering the conversation he and Kiki had when the young pup had wandered into his office while hiding from her guards.

A tiny head peaked into his office, Sesshomaru said nothing as the pup had not yet noticed his presence. Her puppy, Monshi, did. It bounded to him and barked at his feet. When Kiki noticed, him she gave a large smiled, not at all intimidated by the lord who was watching her. Had she been another youki, they would have surely dropped to their knees in tears, begging for their life. Kiki, however, simply skipped to him and climbed into his lap. "Hi father!" She smiled happily.

"Hello little one." The lord smiled, she looked exactly like her father.

"What're ya doin'?" She asked as her father might've.

"I'm planning a date." He answered.

"A date?" She asked with a tilt of her cute puppy ears.

"Yes. What does your daddy like?" The little girl could prove very useful in his winning her dad's heart and finally mating the hanyou.

"Daddy likes cars! Wreally ol' cars! Like wreally wreally ol' cars!" She explained while falling into a fit of giggles that had the cold lord smiling as well.

"Old cars?"

"Daddy likes pretty ol's cars. It's his favorite thing!" She beamed happily.

"Thank you very much pup." The young girl had been helpful indeed. He knew exactly what he and Inuyasha would be doing tonight.

Sesshomaru got in the driver's seat and Inuyasha joined him in the passenger's seat. "No way are we taking this out!" He exclaimed. This car needed to be on display in a case of some sort, it was the first car to ever allow for a youki to use their youki to power the car. While it could run on gas that wasn't was it was made for and it was best to use youki. It ran smoother and it could go as far as the strength of the youki could take them. When they first released only 10 were made. 3 were destroyed, and to this day he's only seen 3. The one he was in, the one he restored, and the one on display at an auto history museum. He wanted to cry he was so happy. He himself had tried to buy the car when he'd become established in the world but by then the car was quite old, expensive, and impossible to find. Inuyasha admired the original interior as Sesshomaru took off. The hanyou was at peace with the world listening to the near silent engine, had it not been for his heritage he wouldn't even hear the silent purring. For the car to be so old, the suspension was magnificent. He couldn't even feel the usual bumps in the road. "This is youki engineering at its finest."

They'd driven quite far from the castle before ducking into a small paved road. They had to pass security at the gate and a door opened. When they drove in, Inuyasha couldn't hold his shocked expression. The first thing he spotted were 2 of the remaining four cars. Then he saw a multitude of other classics, some he'd only ever seen in books. The one thing all the cars, both new and old, had in common was how pristine and new they looked. Sesshomaru parked and Inuyasha got out admiring the multitude of cars. "I can die happily now." Sesshomaru couldn't hold his snort of laughter, and silently thanked Kiki once more. "This is…how?"

"Our father loved them as well. He was fascinated by the vehicles and collected them until the time of his death. Even now, when there are rare cars created, I buy them and add to the collection. There are several mechanics that tend to them every day."

"You and the old man have an eye that's for sure. Man, I tried for decades to get my hands on one of these." Inuyasha said caressing the car they'd arrived in.

"Then it's yours."

"W-what…?" Inuyasha stuttered.

"This garage is yours as much as it is mine. I don't truly care for cars as I prefer to fly. I'm sure had he lived, you two would've bonded over this."

Inuyasha felt his eyes sting, "Holy shit, I'm acting like such a bitch."

"I'll assume you like the surprise."

"Like?" Inuyasha questioned, once again looking at the various cars. "Like doesn't even begin to describe what I'm feeling man." Inuyasha's heart was pounding in his throat as he took pictures of certain cars and sent them to Kouga.

"Which one would you like to take out with us?" Sesshomaru asked, positive that the hanyou would get a thrill out of driving it.

Inuyasha's eyes widened, "Really?" Sesshomaru nodded. "Um…this one! I don't want to hurt any of the oldies." He'd chosen a youki manufactured car that was released recently. Sesshomaru went to a hidden wall panel, and tossed the keys to Inuyasha. The hanyou only gawked at them before looking at Sesshomaru and smiling like his daughter. He was giddy as he sat in the front seat and waiting for the lord to get in. Once again on the road, Inuyasha was instructed to head to the city. "Oh, man I bet this gets so much speed.

Sesshomaru smirked, "Then speed up."

"Thrill seeker?" Inuyasha laughed.

"Go." Was the lord egging the hanyou on. "You're a mechanic, let's see how well you do behind the wheel. Inuyasha's fanged grin grew as he fed the car a large amount of youki before hitting the gas and shooting forward. When he was young and reckless he'd taken part in a lot of street racing so the lord was in for a surprise. Going three times the limit, Inuyasha weaved through cars with practiced ease. The grin on his face permanent as he scanned the road. Sesshomaru could tell the young man was enjoying their date so far.

Very soon, however, the flashing of police lights was in their windows and Inuyasha frowned. "Sess…"

"Annoying. Lose them." Sesshomaru stated.

"What? We can't just."

"We can do whatever we want. We own this country. We pay their salaries. If they can't catch us it's a sign they need more training. Are you scared Inuyasha?" Sesshomaru taunted.

Inuyasha tossed a glare before really feeding the car his youki. "Try to keep up old man!" Just as the car had slowed to normal speed it shot forward once more, catching the police off guard.

"You do well on the highway, how will you do in the city I wonder." Sesshomaru commented, nonchalantly.

"Just you watch." The streets were a lot emptier than usual as Inuyasha drove through with several police on his tail. The main thing he would need to avoid is a helicopter. They sped through the streets, drifting on hard turns and making the police drop back even further. Inuyasha heard a helicopter far in the distance and knew he needed to lose them before that spot light was on them. He accidently ended up on a busy road with cars stuck in traffic. "Shit!" He tried to slow down.

"Don't slow down." Sesshomaru ordered.

"Are you crazy!?"

"Just trust me Inuyasha. Speed up."

Inuyasha bit his lip in apprehension before flooring it. They almost hit the last car but were soaring above it in a flash of light, before landing pass the busy roads and ducking off into an ally out of sight. "That…that was so fucking cool!" Inuyasha exclaimed, the adrenaline still buzzing through his system. "Who knew the lord was such a thrill seeker?" Inuyasha laughed.

"I'm happy you had fun." Sesshomaru smirked as well. As they waited for the heat to die down and for the cops to realize they'd lost they began chatting about Inuyasha's time drag racing. Sesshomaru would like to have known the hanyou in his youth, from his story he was obviously very brash and uncouth, which Sesshomaru commented on.

"Yeah, when Hishime got pregnant, it was a huge wake up call. Like, it hit me like a bus man. Nothing is scarier than finding out you're going to be a father when even you know your life is in shambles." Inuyasha sighed. They'd been waiting for around an hour. "I think it's safe to go. Where to?"

Giving the hanyou the address, they pulled into a swanky club. All eyes were on them as the chic duo exited and Inuyasha handed the keys off to a vale. Sesshomaru glared daggers at alpha's and beta's alike who then put their heads down in submission. He would have Inuyasha entertaining only himself. The two were let into an empty, private area. They sat and ordered a few drinks. The rest of the night was spent with the two talking about random topics that crossed their mind. They even ended up talking about the level of attraction they felt coming from surrounding patrons. The two could feel their stares and Inuyasha smirked. He leaned in and captured the lord's lips in a slow sensual display. The lord was all too keen to oblige. He took his time exploring the hanyou's mouth, hands traveling. Feeling a spike in arousal from his date Inuyasha smiled. It'd been a while since he'd been on such a fantastic date, and was looking forward to more.

Sesshomaru pulled the hanyou into his lap as they made out. Grinding his hips upward pulled a low moan from his little brother. Pulling away his hands rubbed Inuyasha's sides. "Maybe it's time we got out of here." Inuyasha nodded and stood. Sesshomaru drove this time as Inuyasha was unsure about driving as he didn't know how much he'd drank. It wasn't enough to impair his driving in Sesshomaru's opinion as it'd been around 4 hours for what could equate to maybe a shot and a half. The drive to the castle was quicker than expected but the chaos they entered was not expected. Smoke from a fire could be seen and the two parents darted out and inside to find their children. Servants were scrambling to put the fire out.

"Kiki! Sairiu!" Inuyasha shouted, unable to smell anything because of the fire.

A servant ran to them crying, "The princesses are missing!" Inuyasha darted down the family wing of the castle, he kicked the door to Kiki's room down. She wasn't in her room and neither was Sairiu.

"Get this fire out! Now!" Sesshomaru ordered with a roar that shook the very foundation of the castle.

"What did I teach her about fire? What did I teach her about fire besides not making it?" Inuyasha surmised. "She'd be thinking of Sairiu. Shit." Inuyasha could usually predict his daughters decided course of action based on what he teaches her. Sairiu was the unknown variable.

A guard ran to the two, "My lords, we found evidence of a break in! But it's unknown how the fire was started."

"I think Kiki did it." Inuyasha concluded. "When she was four she gained one of her mother's abilities. She came from a long line of fire InuYouki. Shit."

"The fire department can deal with the fire, start searching for the girls." Sesshomaru growled. Someone had ruined their night, and they were going to pay.

Kiki heard the door to her room open, before slamming shut. Someone moved closer to her and her puppy woke and began to growl and bark. "Monshi ... appa ya…" She whispered mistakenly smelling her father on her clothing, and stroked the puppy. When she opened her eyes, two figures were there, and one was holding a whining and crying Sairiu. Kiki growled in a way her dad would be proud of. A person grabbed her and pinned her tiny arms to her body as she tried desperately to bite and maim them. The person was having a hard-enough time holding onto her before she screamed at the top of her lungs. She screamed and cried for her dad who would be there any minute to save her like he always did. She continued to kick and scream like he told her, if anyone tried to take her away. The being covered her mouth and the three ran through the halls holding the girls. Kiki was still trying to bite and kick. She lost control of her mother's gift and her clothing caught fire. The person holding her also caught fire and dropped her. She sprinted away, screaming down the hallway for a guard, her dad, or the lord. The other person was right behind her as she spread flames through the castle. When they caught her once more and tried to cover her mouth she bit down so hard she took quite a few fingers off as well. The figure hit her over the head, effectively silencing the struggling child.

Sairiu watching, paralyzed with fear as her cousin stopped moving. "Kiki~!" She whined, begging her father to help them. Why isn't he coming? She cried silently. The people ran very far with them before loading them into a cage. Sairiu cried loudly and began to howl in fear as she'd done before the lady found her and brought her to her father. She howled loudly and sorrowfully as she shook her cousin who wouldn't wake up like her mother hadn't.

"Shut up!" Was the loud shout towards the crying pup.

"Father!" She cried louder. Howling with all her might.

A bright green whip flew through the area, decapitating several of the perpetrators. It flew through again and Sairiu felt relief flood her being. The whip danced with the grace that only her father possessed and she became quite happy at the prospect of cuddling in the lord's strong arms. Her eyes found her cousin who lay motionless on the floor of the metal cage. She saw her chest moving and wondered if she'd be able to create a whip one day. All at once, unfamiliar people in armor swarmed the area and the whip stopped. The armored people detained the survivors. "How detestable." Was the icy voice of a woman. "Showing weakness is pitiful child." A woman whose robes of white practically glowed as she drifted towards the girls. "Gather the children. We will go back to my castle. I have quite a few words for my son."

"Yes, my lady." The guards bowed. The girls sat in the cage while they rounded up the surviving perpetrators.

An armored person came up to the cage with keys, they took their mask off to reveal the youthful face of a very beautiful shiroinu woman. "Hello puppy, my you look just like Lord Sesshomaru. Come with me okay?" The woman reached in, and Sairiu shied away, shaking in fear.

Tears began again, "Father!" She cried.

The younger pup began to stir, anger evident in her young gaze. She growled, fire sparking at her claws which scratched the bottom of the cage. "Calm yourself, little fire starter. We got the bad guys that hurt you. Let's go get you a pretty new dress and some water okay?" The pup continued to growl. Distrusting of the unfamiliar beings around her. Never having been in the situation she scooted to the very back of the cage and continued to growl. Sairiu scooted back with her, cowering in the corner. The woman sighed and frowned, "You two are really frightened." She called another over and they lifted the cage together and flew to the flying castle.

Setting the cage in a room the woman stepped back, "My name is Yuko. I am a palace guard of the shiroinu clan. We are very few pups, I don't want you to be afraid of me. I know your father, Lord Sesshomaru, we are cousins." The smallest pup didn't stop growling, but Sairiu had stopped crying. A guard had been sent to Lord Sesshomaru to inform him of what happened, she hoped he arrived soon, she'd never seen a pup behave this way towards kindness.

An hour later and the woman felt two very strong powers heading to the castle. In the room, the guards had gathered toys from around the castle to lure the tiniest pup out so they could put clothing on her and make sure she was okay but whenever anyone got close she growled and fought. Sesshomaru's daughter had left the cage and was trying to help them. She snarled and growled ferociously, tail swishing aggressively. She felt the two powers and her lady coming to the room. When the door opened, Sairiu flung herself into her father's arms. The tiniest pup began to do something that shocked all the guards trying to coax her out. She began crying. She crawled out of the cage and ran to the hanyou with outstretched arms. Yuko had thought for sure they'd irreversibly hurt the child in some way but here she was, crying and clinging to her father. "Appa!" She wailed loudly her body trembling in fear. The scent of sadness and fear filled the room. The child had not indicated anything but distrust and anger. Her father held her close, petting her ears and whispering words of safety and encouragement.

"I am very disappointed in you Sesshomaru." The lady of the castle began, "Not because your guards have proven incompetent but because of the lack of training in your daughter. I arrived earlier and had watched as she didn't even try to fight back. Now, this other pup. She is an amazing example of what it means to be self-reliant." Eyeing the pup who was still crying so sorrowfully the lady smirked, causing her guards to gasp. "Not only did the pup fight and escape before being caught again, she irreparably maimed two of them. Then woke up and was still defensive, defensive until she knew she was safe. With a bit of training, they will stop trying to kidnap her as they did with you. Your child was useless."

"Mother."

"Silence! It is unacceptable." She growled at her only child.

"Scary~!" Kiki cried and ended up giving herself the hiccups.

"I know, I know." Inuyasha comforted

"Daddy didn't come!" She practically screamed.

Inuyasha felt the sting of her words in his chest. He always told her to stay strong and he'd be there. He failed her this time. He held her tightly, "Daddy is so sorry Kiki. I'm so sorry." Inuyasha wasn't paying attention to what was happening around him. He was trying not to cry. Kiki's face was red as she cried even louder. Inuyasha pat her back and used his youki to let out a soothing pulse, letting Kiki and her youkai know that she was safe. It took a moment but eventually she fell asleep in his arms with tears still running down her puffy red face. "I'm so sorry puppy..." A guard handed him some clothes for her and he dressed her silently. He allowed himself to get too caught up and this happened. It could have been prevented but he was out reliving times long since forgotten. Standing up Sesshomaru filled him in on what his daughter did and while he was proud, he never wanted his daughter to have to fend for herself at this age. He bit his lip holding back the tears. It had been quite a long night and Inuyasha was led to a room where he lay down with his pup in his arms. He stroked her puppy ears and sent out the pulse to help her sleep as a few tears escaped his own eyes. He felt like he was failing at being a parent, it hadn't been a year and twice, he'd almost lost his pup. It was like the day of her birth, when he was losing everything he loved all at once. He sniffled once, "I promise I'll be there from now. I'm so sorry Kiki." He was distraught, never having seen his daughter cry as she did before. Inuyasha lay there in silence until the door opened and Sesshomaru entered with Sairiu and Monshi. Setting the pups on the bed they curled up with he and Kiki, and Sesshomaru joined them, saying nothing as he closed his eyes. Inuyasha was the last to drift off to sleep. His mind racing with everything that had happened.


	7. Chapter 7

Sesshomaru recognized the smell of salt when he entered the room. When all the pups settled and drifted off to sleep he merely watched and monitored their breathing. He'd broken his main promise to Inuyasha. He'd assured the hanyou that his daughter would be safe in the castle, the lord himself realized how caught up he had become as he didn't think to increase the security when the two left the castle. Glancing at his own daughter he sighed, he knew he wasn't half the parent that Inuyasha was but for their daughters' sake he wanted to be better. He pet her tiny head, the mini female version of him snuggled closer her baby face squished into the pillow she lay on. Sesshomaru didn't sleep, he relaxed and planned his next course of action until a head of white sat up. Tiny puppy ears twitched as the tiny pup rubbed her sleepy eyes. Sesshomaru had never noticed before but she was actually quite small for her age, he originally chalked it up to the fact that his daughter was much taller than average so maybe the discrepancy increased by comparison. She examined her surroundings before snuggling her father's head and playing with his ears. Sesshomaru wanted to chuckle, wondering how often it was that she'd done it. "Daddy tired?" She whispered. Inuyasha grunted in approval before peaking a golden eye open only to have the puppy obstruct his view. "Daddy wake up?" She asked.

Inuyasha sat up, causing the pup to tumble a bit. Throwing his legs over the side of the bed he stretched a bit. Kiki wrapped her little arms around his shoulders and he stood, giving her an early morning piggyback ride. Inuyasha laughed a bit to himself when he thought about how he had to give Kagome piggyback rides, back when they were after their master degrees, whenever the entire gang was together during camping trips. Inuyasha looked back at the bed to see the lord sitting up and watching him. "Inuyasha I'm sorry." The mechanic didn't reply, he continued on his way to the bathroom. The lord was in front of him in a flash. Forcing Inuyasha to look at him, "I was careless and hadn't made the preparations for our departure correctly. It won't happen again."

Inuyasha pulled his chin from the unrelenting grasp, "Don't make promises you can't keep Lord Sesshomaru." Pushing past the lord he helped his daughter use the toilet and washed her face. She skipped from the room in the fancy pj's, singing a nursery rhyme she'd learned from her grandmother. She jumped on the bed waking her puppy and Sairiu. "Sairiu come here." Inuyasha held his hands out to her and took her into the bathroom to wash her face as well. The lord stood idly by, unsure of what he should do. If Inuyasha was just anyone, he would've probably rend the skin from their body for rejecting his apology, but as a prospective mate Sesshomaru was a bit lost on what course of action to take. He couldn't force the hanyou to accept his apology. After cleaning the pups, Inuyasha washed his own face, sighing into the mirror. He could hear his daughter romping around with her cousin and puppy. Returning to the room he snorted in laughter, the tall stoic lord had one girl under each arm and was bouncing lightly on the bed. It was such an interesting sight. Grabbing his phone, he snapped a photo then admired it. The girls had equally large smiles and bed head. The lord was as dressed down as Inuyasha felt he could get without complaining and his hair was tousled with his movements. The inubeast pup was barking and running rapidly around the lord's bare feet. Inuyasha smirked, he'd definitely be using it against the lord later.

Looking up, Sesshomaru jumped high and landed on the ground, the girls in a fit of squeals as he set them down. "Shall we go to breakfast?" Sesshomaru was nervous.

Inuyasha had been caught up with his daughter so he didn't actually meet the lady of the castle. As they traipsed down the hall a familiar guard greeted them. "Hello there, cousins! Feeling better princesses?" She asked cheerfully. Sairiu nodded with a smile while Kiki merely watched the woman. She stretched her arms up to be picked up and snuggled into her dad's arms, eyeing the woman from her safe position. "Still not too fond of me huh little cousin?" She lamented. "Well, I hope we can become friends. Breakfast is being served in my lady's gardens, please follow me if you will." She turned and headed off with them closely being. Inuyasha eyed his daughter, usually she was very kind to everyone she met. Even if they creeped her out a bit she'd at least give a smile.

He frowned and asked her in her mother language, "Is there a reason you don't like that auntie?" She nodded silently watching her. "Why don't you like her?" She shrugged. Inuyasha sighed, children can be confusing. "Is it because of yesterday? She's a good guy, she'll keep you safe."

"I don't like her." Kiki whined and began crying, snuggling into his shoulder.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's okay if you don't like her. I just wondered why." Inuyasha tried to explain to her, but the waterworks had already begun.

"Daddy! I don't like her! No!" She cried randomly. Her small fit ended by the time they reached the gardens but she refused to be put down with Yuko standing there when she was dismissed Kiki visibly relaxed but then her eyes fell upon the lady of the castle. Kiki stared intently at her as they took their seats.

"Second son of my late mate. You've grown quite well." She observed.

"You knew of his existence?" Sesshomaru questioned, a bit annoyed at his mother.

"Of course. Your father was a clumsy oaf. To think he could hide his mistress from me was a foolish assumption." She stared at the hanyou, as if trying to burn a hole through his forehead.

She jumped barely visible when she looked at the pup who'd climbed under the table and into her elegant lap. The puppy-eared child tilted her head to the side as she stared at Sesshomaru's mother with the same intensity that the woman had been staring at her father. "Pretty." Was the child's simple assessment.

"Kiki, that is impolite. Come here, now." Inuyasha ordered. Kiki frowned but came around the table to her dad who sat her in his lap to keep a better eye on her.

"Such a bold child. Definitely the granddaughter of my late mate." The woman sighed, "I can only wonder why I was made to miss both of their presentations." She said with a pointed glare at her own son. "I had to hear second hand that this pup was the life of the party."

"Enough of your petty jabs mother. You know full and well why you were not invited." Sesshomaru practically growled.

"Because you sired a bastard and took her on as your heir anyway." She growled back. "Pitiful child." The lady began to stare at her granddaughter, making the child uncomfortable to the point where she crawled into the hanyou's lap as well to shy away from the gaze.

"Lady, if all you're gonna do is sit here and terrorize children, we have better places to be and things to do." Inuyasha glared at the woman. He stood up.

"Insolent half-breed! You do not leave until you are dismissed!" She growled.

"Last I checked, you aren't the lady of these lands, you aren't my mother, and I'm a grown ass man." Inuyasha headed out with the two pups in his arms, he wasn't going to sit there while she was a bitch to the kids. Kiki wasn't afraid of her but Sairiu was obviously ready to wet herself.

That left Sesshomaru sitting with his mother. "I don't want you in her life, at all." He stated.

"How cruel." She stated sarcastically.

"Nor do I want you in the lives of any children of mine after I mate." Sesshomaru said coldly.

"You cannot be serious." She glared.

At that Sesshomaru did the one thing he knew would scare his mother, he smiled, "Tempt me if you are bold enough to do so." He then stood as well, "If you can't accept her you will have none of them. She is as much my child as any other I might have."

"Do you truly think your future mate will accept her!?" She nearly shouted, losing a bit of her temper.

"He already has." He said as he began to follow the direction Inuyasha disappeared into.

Sesshomaru flew the small group back to the castle where repairs had been going on throughout the night, without a word he went to his office and began reorganizing the guards to prevent such a thing from happening again. Area's where the princess' played would double in security and guards would now have to patrol the halls in fours as well as the gardens. Sesshomaru wasn't used to being a father, he wasn't use to having to protect someone else with his very life. He sighed to himself, considering calling Inuyasha for assistance but instead he called his war advisor, together they were able to strategically place guards and patrols so that the whole castle was covered. It'd been quite a few decades since Sesshomaru had last returned to the castle, millennia even.

When it was over, his chief of arms put the plans in place, assigning roles through rank. Sesshomaru felt confident that he could leave his guards to it and went in search of his small family. Following his nose, he arrived at the Eastern garden, where Inuyasha sat with the young girls talking to him while playing in his waist length hair. There were all manner of brushes and combs strewn about and Inuyasha reading, only looking slightly annoyed. "Very beautiful." Sesshomaru commented causing Inuyasha's eyes to widened in annoyance.

"Father!" The two young girls ran and stopped at his feet, looking up at the tall lord with excitement twinkling in their eyes. "Can we do father's hair?" Sairiu asked while fiddling with her hands. The two-looked hopeful and Sesshomaru understood why Inuyasha allowed them to play with his hair. He sighed and look a seat next to the hanyou.

"No one does puppy eyes better than puppies." Inuyasha commented as he continued to read the book in his hands.

"As I am learning." Sesshomaru agreed. They sat in silence, answering the off question from one of the girls every now and then. The lord had begun watching the hanyou's face, he was reading an automotive engineering book and seemed quite engrossed in its content. Uncharacteristically, the king slowly grabbed Inuyasha's hand and held it tightly in his own. "Inuyasha…when we initially moved here. I had not taken the proper precautions. Please understand that I am quite unused to being a father and still very new to living in this castle as it's lord." Inuyasha placed his bookmark with his other hand. "I apologize. Since this morning I have been working with my advisors to secure the castle. If anyone tries to bring them harm, it won't happen here." Sesshomaru paused, lost in thought as he rubbed Inuyasha's hand in his own, "I'm still trying to figure everything out, so give me a second chance, please."

The two adults hadn't noticed how quiet it had become as the two girls had ceased their chatter. "Daddy?" Kiki questioned in her mother language. "Did father do something mean? He said sorry, shouldn't you accept the apology? When someone makes a mistake, we give them another chance, right?" She asked, sounding way beyond her years.

Inuyasha couldn't help his laughter. "Yes, we do but Kiki sometimes it's okay not to accept the apology. And not everyone deserves a second chance. Especially, when that person hurt you very bad before. Okay?"

"Yes!"

"Fine. One more chance…but Sesshomaru I need you to understand that my daughter comes first. Before anyone or anything." Kiki made her way into his lap and snuggled close. "I guess it's time for a nap, huh?" With their hands still entwined they stood. Sairiu grabbed Sesshomaru's remaining hand and they walked to the family wing of the castle so the girls could nap comfortably. With two guards posted inside and two outside, Inuyasha felt comfortable enough to go with the lord on a walk. They talked about a variety of things that led back to their date. Inuyasha grinned and had no choice but to concede to the fact that it was one of the greatest dates he'd ever been on. Sesshomaru once again entwined their fingers which Inuyasha found quite odd. He didn't take the lord to be the touchy-feely type but allowed the lord to hold his hand. Offly, Inuyasha wondered how many lives had been ended with the very claws that caressed his own.

The two could hear the excited whispers of the castle staff that saw them as they walked. Inuyasha rolled his eyes at their gossiping. They found a place in the west garden near the koi pond to sit. Neither was saying anything as they enjoyed each other's presence. A moment later and Inuyasha's phone began ringing. "Hello?"

"It's happening man!" Kouga shouted over the phone causing Inuyasha to move it away at the volume.

"The hell are you talking about?" He questioned harshly.

"Oh my gods man, I'm so happy! Ayame's pregnant! Pregnant! With my cubs!" The wolf howled over the phone.

Inuyasha's frown became a bright smile, "Congrats man! About time you joined me on the fatherhood train. I ain't gonna lie man, shits tough."

"Imma need to borrow Kiki to get some more training in man. I can't! Holy shit! I'm gonna be a father!" The wolf sounded as if his happiness had brought him to tears. "And you already know you're their godfather man."

Inuyasha smiled happily, "Thank you Kouga, I'm really happy for you."

Kouga sniffled, "Alright man, I had to let you know first. I'll see you at work tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, bright and early."

"Okay bye." They hung up and Inuyasha hadn't realized he was still smiling.

"Your friend is having a child?" Sesshomaru questioned, having heard most of the question.

"Yeah, and I'm going to be their godfather." Inuyasha confirmed.

"What does that mean? Godfather?" Sesshomaru asked for clarification.

"It just means that if anything were to happen to Ayame and Kouga, god forbid, if they ended up dying. I would raise their child. Kouga and Ayame are Kiki's godparents. Had I mated with a human I would've chose Sango and Miroku. 'cause ya know, no such thing as a quarter hanyou."

"That sounds useful. So, you chose someone you trust with your child's safety?"

"Yeah but it's a little more complicated. Kouga and I have known each other for well over a hundred years. We didn't always get along but we're best friends. I trust him with my life and my daughter's life." Inuyasha explained.

"Perhaps it would be beneficial for Sairiu to have such as well." Sesshomaru considered.

"Dude there's no one on this side of the planet that could possibly kill you. She's got nothing to worry about." Inuyasha chuckled.

Sesshomaru gave the hanyou a small smile before pulling him close and connecting their lips. Inuyasha hesitated a moment before kissing the lord back. "Don't deny our attraction to one another Inuyasha. It's bothersome." Was Sesshomaru's remark. Sesshomaru was able to wear down the hanyou's defenses as they made-out in the garden. Inuyasha felt like a teenager once again, he was afraid that someone would walk in on them but also very excited by the prospect. The lords, sneaky hands were working magic through the thin cloth of his clothing. Inuyasha moaned into his mouth as Sesshomaru explored his body.

"Daddy come back!" He heard his daughter cry out. He pushed the lord away and darted to his daughter's room. Sesshomaru sat back stunned and very annoyed. Standing wordlessly, he followed.

"Daddy!" She cried.

"Princess, princess. Everything'll be okay I promise." Nagisa tried to assure the young pup that had tried to leave the room. He picked her up and bounced her in his arms trying to use his youki to sooth her. Mizuko stood quietly aside as the young pup cried, unsure of what to do as there hadn't been any royal children in well over 700 years.

"Wan' daddy!" She continued to cry. "Daddy…." She fell into a coughing fit and Nagisa patted her back to help calm her.

The hanyou opened the door to the room and was handed his puppy. "Hey, it's alright. I'm right here." The two guards bowed, then bowed again when the lord of the castle entered. "Shh, shh. It's okay. I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere."

"Don' leave no more…" Was her quiet request. Sairiu was sitting on the bed, one side of her curly hair matted and sticking up. She rubbed her tired eyes as she watched everyone in the room.

Sesshomaru sat on the bed and lifted her into his arms. "Everything is okay Sairiu. Are you still tired?" She shook her head no, but rested her head on his warm chest.

"Thanks guys, she's okay. I just felt too far away for her liking" Inuyasha explained.

"Well with what happened, I'm surprised she didn't make you sleep in here with her my lord." Nagisa tried lightening the mood but with the lord here he didn't feel as free to joke around with the hanyou.

"Daddy…m'hungry." Kiki whined and tugged at his forelocks.

"It's almost dinner time." Inuyasha patted her back.

"I want a daughter so much. Zuuzu~! let's have pups now~!" Nagisa pleaded with the other inu. "I want my daughter to call me daddy, it's just too cute when she says it.

"Gisa-chan wantsa have puppies?" Kiki asked curiously.

"Yes! I want a very big family!" Nagisa smiled happily answering the puppy.

Inuyasha's eyes found Mizuko, whose face was a healthy shade of red. "Fine…"

"Really!? Oh my god I'm so happy!" Nagisa exclaimed. "I'm gonna have daughters! I know it! Mizuko, you're gonna be a father!" Inuyasha laughed along with the guard whose apprehensions about their lord being there ceased.

"Hey, thank you for taking care of her though. I really appreciate it." Inuyasha thanked the two guards who were a bit lost on what to say. No one ever thanked them, it was just their job.

Mizuko scratched his head awkwardly but Nagisa beamed brightly, "Anytime~! They're just too adorable not to want to keep safe. Uwaa~! I hope my daughter is as energetic as Kiki~!" Kiki smiled and giggled at the antics of the silly guard.

"Can Kiki play with Gisa-chan's puppies too?" She asked, tugging on his clothing.

"Of course, puppy! She'll need someone to teach her how to act as cute as you do." From what Inuyasha could tell, Nagisa was going to make a fine parent. Kiki threw her arms around Inuyasha and hide her smiling face in his hair. "Aw, what's going on puppy? Did I make you shy?" Nagisa questioned with a smile. Kiki shook her head but didn't look at the inu.

"You two and the others may leave when you are finished." Was Sesshomaru's cool statement.

Kiki looked back at Nagisa but looked away again with blush and a smile. Inuyasha began laughing hysterically. "Aw Kiki, do you like Gisa-chan?" She nodded, wordlessly. "Do you like him a whole lot?" She nodded again and glanced at her dad from her hiding spot. Inuyasha started laughing again, "Congrats Nagisa, I think she has a crush on you."

Kiki whined, "Daddy~!" she squished his face a bit upset at him telling Nagisa. Inuyasha was sure she didn't know the word crush in this language and wondered what her tutors were teaching her.

The handsome, bubbly Inu guard was excited about being Kiki's crush. "Haha! Are you going to steal me away from Mizuko?" He asked with a tilt of his head.

Kiki looked at him then at Mizuko before she laughed, "Yeah!"

"Is it because he's so mean to me?" Nagisa asked, able to play with Kiki and pick on his mate at the same time. Kiki nodded with absolute certainty.

"I do not think this is appropriate." Sesshomaru spoke up causing Nagisa and Mizuko to straighten up in fear. "She is much too young."

"Chill out Sesshomaru." Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Kids will often have crushes on the adults in their lives that have qualities they admire. There's no harm in it and Nagisa was just playing along and actually, handling the situation very well. I can't even tell you how many times she's told Kouga she was going to be his mate."

"Really?" Sesshomaru asked in disbelief.

Inuyasha met his gaze, "I'm pretty sure when you were a kid there was at least one adult you admired so much that you wanted them to be your mate."

Sesshomaru considered it for a while before he remembered. "I guess so then." He then looked down at his own daughter and asked her in her mother's language if she had a crush on someone.

"I like Daddy." Was her quick response, causing Sesshomaru to snort, unable to contain the small bout of laughter.

"I do too." He responded mirthfully.

"What did she say?" Inuyasha asked curiously as Nagisa continued to speak with Kiki.

"You." Sesshomaru smiled at the thought. "Like father like daughter, then."

"Aw, I don't understand why little girls always choose me. It's the same with some of my friend's kids. Hell, even my friend Bankotsu's little sister has a crush on me. Well, and I guess now most of the demonic nobility." Inuyasha sighed, thinking about his situation again.

"Kiki you're going to be such a little heart stopper when you're older." Nagisa charmed the little princess.

Eventually, the two took their leave, Nagisa sending Inuyasha hints that they were going to work on their family, which caused him to laugh. Inuyasha rather enjoyed being around Nagisa, he was an interesting character he considered more like a friend than an employee. Everyone around him was having more children and Inuyasha could admit he was quite envious. He hadn't even realized his thoughts had slipped from his mouth. Sesshomaru smirked, "I'd be happy to give you more. After all, won't your heat start in a few months?" Inuyasha's face reddened and he looked away.

"No, fall for me is musk, spring is heat, and I don't want to have children with anyone I'm not mated to." Inuyasha stated quickly.

"That can be rectified." Sesshomaru whispered sultry into his triangle appendages.

Looking away from the lord, he picked his daughter up, "I just don't know about that right now Sesshomaru." This caused his smirk to ebb as he watched the hanyou leave the room.

Two months later, Inuyasha was on the phone with Kouga while getting ready. He and Ayame were having a baby shower for their unborn child. Inuyasha was excited because Ayame would be revealing the genders and number of cubs. "Man, my hands are sweating. I really want like 6 girls but then again I kind of want 5 boys, for that basketball team I have in mind."

Inuyasha snorted, while it was possible for he and Ayame to have that many cubs in a litter, Ayame was much too small in her humanoid form for there to be more than 3. "Calm down everything'll be fine." Sesshomaru entered the room and watched him get ready. "hold on Kouga. Did you want something?" Inuyasha asked the quiet lord.

"How long will you be gone?"

"A while I think. Kiki, are you ready!?" He shouted into the bathroom where she was brushing her teeth.

"Yes!" Was her chipper reply as she skipped from the room. "Daddy, can Saisai come too?"

Inuyasha paused before asking Sesshomaru. He nodded, "I trust her with you Inuyasha, you need not ask." Inuyasha nodded as much as he could, holding the phone with his head. He and Kouga hung up a few minutes later and the three went to Sairiu's room to help her get ready as well. The little princesses looked very happy and ready to go.

Inuyasha looked back at the stoic lord who looked quite bored. Quickly texting his friend if it was okay to bring the lord, Kouga replied just as fast requesting that the lord not kill anyone. "Do you want to go Sesshomaru?"

The lord's lips pursed, "Would your friends not find that strange? You often say I am out of touch with reality."

Inuyasha nodded in confirmation, "I already asked, they just don't want you killing anyone. But maybe if you looked more like a regular person it would help. C'mon we're going to make a few stops. For gifts and stuff too."

At their last stop Sesshomaru was dressed business casual and his hair was pulled up into a bun. The dark jeans did wonders for his legs and he was certain Kagome would be proud of him. "Hold on." Inuyasha rolled the lord's sleeves up to his elbows to complete the look. "Shit." Inuyasha covered his mouth as the girls had been looking and listening. "I mean crap. I was trying to dress you down. You just look like a model now. Can't you be ugly or something?" Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at the absurd question. "You're right, you're hopeless. Come on let's go inside."

Handing each of the girls one of the smaller gifts, he and Sesshomaru carried the bigger presents. Kiki excited rang the doorbell, the door was opened by Ayame who was huge and glowing. "Inuyasha!"

"Hey hun." He hugged her best he could with the baby bump.

"Congratulations." Sesshomaru stated, sounding much less formal than usual.

"Thank Lord Sesshomaru, please come in!" She held her hands out for the girls but Sairiu shied away with a frown. Setting the gifts in the present area, Sesshomaru picked his daughter up and took in his surroundings. The home was a lot more earthy than Inuyasha's had been and he tried not to judge the occupants by the standards held in nobility.

"Bro!" Was Kouga's loud voice.

"Hey man." They half hugged and Inuyasha congratulated him again.

"Where's my princess?" Kouga asked looking around and seeing her listening to Ayame's round tummy.

"Saisai! Listen to the puppy!" She squealed over the group of people. All eyes focused on the lord and his daughter, he wanted to glare but he promised Inuyasha he'd play nice, so he merely set his daughter on her tiny feet and watched her slowly patter over to her cousin. Looking up at Ayame, who nodded in encouragement, the pup put her ear to her stomach. The lights that danced in her eyes when she heard the cub/s shift was amazing. Sesshomaru smiled, he'd love to fill Inuyasha with his children and give the girls siblings.

"Father! Father! Puppy!" She squeaked excited.

Soon, everyone had arrived and the lord was introduced to many of his subjects. Most commented on how they assumed he'd be a lot weirder which Inuyasha laughed nonstop about. When everyone was seated, Ayame came over to the girls. "Can you two help me with something?" They nodded excited and followed her into another room along with Sango, Kagome, and one of her friends. Ayame was the only one to leave the room and she stood in front of everyone with a mic. "Hello everyone! Thank you for being here for me and Kouga, it's been a long time coming and…" She sniffled, and a lot of people in the crowd aw'd. "I'm just so happy." She wiped at her tears and Kouga pulled her into his arms. When she sobered up he took his seat beside Inuyasha. "We've already decided on Inuyasha and whoever he ends up with being our children's godparents. Inuyasha is Kouga's best friend as well as one of mine and we couldn't think of anyone better to raise our children healthily. Thank you Inuyasha." There was a bunch of clapping. "Now let's get to what you've all been waiting for. Kouga especially!"

The crowd clapped and cheered, Kouga stood up. "Alright tell me how many cubs we got!"

Ayame smiled, "Come on out ladies."

First to leave was Sango, pushing a small decorative box, then Kagome, and finally Ayame's friend. Kouga fell to his knees. "Yes! YES!" He hooted happily.

"Alright now their genders. We all know how jealous Kouga is of Inuyasha having such a cute daughter, just like we all know I was hoping for sons. Let's see who got what they wanted."

Kouga's fists were clenched in anticipation, the crowd leaned in as well. Even Sesshomaru was curious as to how it would turn out. Ayame knocked on the first box and out popped Kiki with pink balloons. "Oh my god!" Kouga shouted happily picking Kiki up and spinning her around while kissing her face and making her squeal. "I'm gonna have a daughter oh my god!" Kouga was nearly in tears, "I have a daughter." Inuyasha patted his friend on the back. Knowing he'd been elated when he learned what Kiki's sex was.

"But wait there's more!" Ayame said earning hearty laughed from the crowd.

Sesshomaru was intrigued by the behavior of the wolf. Is finding out your unborn child's sex so exciting? He looked at Inuyasha as he sat back down. He would work hard to find out. Ayame grabbed the crowd's attention once more and Kouga was bouncing with Kiki in his arms in anticipation. Ayame knocked on the box and Sairiu stood up happily as she released the pink balloons to the ceiling. "Yes! Friggin' yes!" He said, still careful with there being children in the room. "Two cute baby girls." He keened and reached out to pick Sairiu up who surprisingly, was okay with it. Now holding two little girls all eyes were on the third box. "Come on Ayame, let's see my son, you always get what you want." He chuckled.

Ayame actually gave a sad smile and knocked on the box, which opened to reveal pink balloons and Miroku and Sango's two-year-old baby girl. "Holy! The gods answered my prayers!" He bounced around with the girls causing them to squeak and squeal in delight. "I have baby girls. I have baby girls! I have baby girls! Woot woot! Aye aye! woot woot!"

He started doing a chant from their college days that many of their friends couldn't help but join in on, even Inuyasha. "Woot woot! Aye aye! Woot woot! What we do!? Pink no blue! What we do!? Pink no blue! Woot woot! Aye aye! Woot woot!" Kouga had played very many demonic sports in university, and it was very well known that the team and crowd would only do it during a blowout victory, the words after what we do were always said by the person who initiated the chant at first so others could be on the same page.

"I'd hate to rain on your parade man, but in a few weeks your entire life is going to be a nightmare. Three kids all of those diapers, Ayame's gonna need a lot of help man." Inuyasha rubbed his friends back. "I'll give you a year's paid paternity leave, if you need more just let me know."

"Thanks man." The wolf hugged his friend after setting the girls down. He then went over to kiss his mate lovingly.

Inuyasha plopped down next to the lord, "I'm proud of him. He's gonna be a great dad. Not as great as me but alright."

"Is it truly so excited to have your mate pregnant?" Sesshomaru asked, deep in thought.

"Oh yeah, that's right. You didn't have any of that." Inuyasha initiated contact first, pulling the lords hand into his own. "It's terrifying at first, then exciting, then terrifying again. There's a lot of ups and downs but mostly, you're really proud of your mate and grateful to them for giving you something so special. Then when they're born it's like your entire world shifts, like it gets really big because of such a tiny being. You can't help but stare at them in aw, the tiny puppy you created, the being that's completely dependent upon you for everything. They're so innocent and you literally can't believe you created them. Then it gets scary again. When you think about the world and how much you want to protect them from it." Inuyasha sighed, finding his daughter being fed cake by Ayame as he lost himself to his thoughts. "In other words, it's the most amazing feeling in the world." Inuyasha stood and pulled the lord with him. "If we work out…I wouldn't mind having your child Sesshomaru." Inuyasha said seriously.

The lord stared at him with an intensity that would've made a lesser youki take their own life. "We will." Was his assurance before their lips met. Many of Inuyasha's friend's gasped in shock as their friend kissed the King, unaware of the eyes watching them. They were so lost in their conversation and each other that the world had melted Sesshomaru kissed the hanyou gently, slowly, easing his arms around his waist firmly. When they pulled away from one another they were at a loss for words. Sesshomaru could hear the hanyou's heart beating loudly in his chest. Inuyasha swallowed thickly, his heart hammering in his chest. Their kisses had never felt so intense, he felt his youki thrum in his head in approval, asking for more. Pulling them out of their daze was the crash of a plate, and Kiki's and Sairiu's cries. The loud noise of the plate had scared the children at the table.

"Daddy!" "Father!" The two cried respectively.

The inu, released each other with a final bit of eye contact before going to their daughters. The night ended with Kouga and quite a few other friends passed out drunkenly. Inuyasha hadn't drank because he was driving but he helped Ayame with the clean up after making her sit down to rest. Sesshomaru started to assist him as well as the girls. Ayame couldn't believe the Lord of the lands was cleaning her home, nor could she believe how cute the small family was. When everything was cleaned and drunkards placed in bedrooms and guestrooms, the four inu made their way back to Inuyasha's SUV.

When the girls were put to bed and the guards in place the two inu walked the short distance to Inuyasha's rooms. Sesshomaru stopped him before he could go in. "Stay with me tonight."

Inuyasha blushed at the request, "I don't know if that's such a-"

"Give me this." Sesshomaru requested. Inuyasha sighed and conceded. Going into his room momentarily to change before joining the lord once more. Inuyasha had never been inside of the lord's quarters and was very curious. When they entered Inuyasha wasn't too surprised to see how impersonal the room was. Inuyasha sat on the bed, wondering to himself what he was doing here. In his brother's room. He watched Sesshomaru change before they settled in bed together. Sesshomaru pulled him close and tucked the hanyou's head under his chin, a very dominant and trusting gesture, considering how easy it would be for Inuyasha to rip the lord's throat out with his teeth. They slept like that, bodies pressed tightly together, comfortably.


	8. Chapter 8

A month later and it was time for the pups to return to school. A lot had changed in that time including Inuyasha and Sesshomaru spending almost every night in each other's arms, doing nothing more than enjoying the other's presence. Sesshomaru enjoyed it quite a lot, he didn't understand why but assumed it was something instinctual as Inuyasha's scent was completely covered with his own now. The only way to scent him was to get very close which the hanyou wouldn't allow, especially if you weren't already close to him. Inuyasha took them to school for their first day back and watched them enter the building with guards before heading to work. The work hit him hard with Kouga's loss. Inuyasha wouldn't bother him though, considering the cubs had been born, each one a spitting image of the charismatic wolf. Kiki was able to hold each one and they even asked him to name the youngest, he chose Mayu, which Ayame was absolutely taken with. After work, he was back at the school to get the girls. According to them their days had been very fun and they liked their new teachers. Inuyasha smiled, everything was going right, he pulled at his collar, feeling a little warm. He sighed, knowing what was going to happen in the coming few days.

When they arrived at the castle he could tell it was happening a little sooner than it should with the way the betas and omega swooned when he walked past. In his opinion, heat was a lot worse than musk because he felt like he was burning up and overemotional but musk just had him angry and aggressive. He was worried because he couldn't go pile up with his friends while he was "dating" Sesshomaru. They'd been on quite a few dates, after the incident, most of which were child friendly. He sighed, trying to figure out what he'd do as he took a shower. "Inuyasha." Was Sesshomaru's voice. Not responding right away, he wondered why alpha's didn't have a musk season. He hadn't paid much attention in school, he just knew they went into musk when their mates were in heat or vice versa. He knew that because of that, alpha's could be impregnated like any other youki but he just couldn't fathom the lack of a heat or musk season.

"I'm showering!" Inuyasha said knowing the lord could hear him. "Fuck. I'm gonna end up humping chairs or some shit, aren't I?" He thought angrily to himself, knowing he wouldn't be getting any relief this season.

Sesshomaru opened the door, "Your scent is everywhere."

"I know." Inuyasha groaned.

"It's very strong."

"No shit." Inuyasha sighed.

"A servant was found in early heat in the middle of the hall. She collapsed when she smelled you." Sesshomaru continued.

"I can't do anything about this besides finding something to fuck!" He said, annoyed with the lord. "The shit's happening sooner than it should and the last thing I need is for your pompous ass to be riding me about it!" Inuyasha growled angrily.

"Riding you huh?" Sesshomaru spoke with consideration in his tone. "How long will this last?"

"A week." Inuyasha clipped. "Look. If I end up balls deep in some youki in heat, I'm sorry. I can't really control myself when I'm like this…it's really difficult… I'll try not to leave my room until it's over." Inuyasha explained.

"Is there anything we can do to ease it?" Sesshomaru asked, as he was an alpha and didn't go through seasons like betas and omegas did.

Inuyasha sighed harshly, "Considering there's no pill for it, completing it or suffering through it." Sesshomaru nodded his understanding. The lord wanted to suggest completing it but he was unsure of how Inuyasha would respond, after all, he could make a mistake and mark the lord as his mate. He watched as Inuyasha toweled off before grabbing his phone and calling to tell his workers that he'd be out for season. Sesshomaru could smell and hear omegas and betas gathering outside of the door, causing him to growl. He opened the door and the small crowd that gathered swooned at Inuyasha's scent wafting out.

"Leave." The group looked very hesitant to disperse so Sesshomaru called alpha guards to keep them away. No betas or omegas would be allowed in the family wing until the season was over. When he made it back to the room Inuyasha hadn't registered him and was furiously masturbating making the lord feel a bit bad about his situation. He knew Inuyasha had ways to deal with the heat with the bodies of others but wouldn't because of their relationship. Sesshomaru's youkai whispered it's suggestion in the back of his mind, the very same that he rejected a moment earlier. "Inuyasha. I will return." Inuyasha stopped his movements and stiffened, a dark embarrassed blush coated his naked body as he hadn't heard or smelled the lord standing there. When the lord returned from his short trip Inuyasha was fully clothed but lying flat and rocking against a pillow. "Inuyasha….you said the only way to help was to complete the season…correct?" Inuyasha said nothing and merely nodded. "Should we complete it then?" Sesshomaru suggested, gaining Inuyasha's full attention.

"You do know what that entails, right?" Inuyasha asked with a raised brow as he stood predatorily. The hanyou was in front of the lord quickly, the scent of his potential mate setting a fire in his belly. Taking a pill out of a small packet, the lord swallowed it before he let his youkai do as it pleased and send him into heat. His body burned something fierce. The sensations were completely new to his body, everything burned but where the hanyou touched him cooled exponentially. He'd ordered that no one should disturb them and made sure the girls were taken care of before returning to Inuyasha. The pill was to prevent pregnancy as Inuyasha didn't want a child out of wedlock. As soon as he locked the door, Inuyasha pounced, eager to enter the lord.

Inuyasha had lost himself to his instincts as he tore at the lord's clothing. Sesshomaru himself was dazed from the heat as Inuyasha's fingertips sent jolts of cooling electricity up his spine. Sesshomaru couldn't think straight but knew they had to keep some semblance of themselves in order to keep from marking each other, as much as he himself would love to. The hanyou was rough with his body, nipping and sucking at his exposed chest before he began to jerk him roughly. Sesshomaru regretted doing this to himself a bit because of how much it hurt. His entire body felt like he was sitting in an open flame and he felt awful for the beta's and omegas for having to deal with such a horrid feeling. He assumed that was why alpha's usually mated other alphas, to keep from having to do this. Before the lord knew it, he was deviled of all clothing and Inuyasha was pressing into him. The lord wasn't new to men but it'd been a while since he allowed one this privilege. His body had begun producing a clear fluid to make mating easier because of the heat so it made Inuyasha's entry a lot smoother than what it could have been. Sesshomaru's body cooled exponentially when Inuyasha was fully seated but all of the heat had gathered at his nether religions and he just wanted the hanyou to start moving. Soon, Inuyasha's hips were pumping into him at a rapid pace. Only the sounds of slapping skin and moans echoed off the walls. Over the next week, they'd been in many positions and connected many times, both lost in the season as they found their respective climax. By the end when it all ebbed away, they lay curled together sleeping off the residual exhaustion. The following morning Inuyasha woke and stretched, Sesshomaru still lay sleeping beside him as a blush overtook his face. He'd never expected the lord to do something like that for him. The blush reached even the tips of his triangle ears. He couldn't even look at the lord without the blush heating his face. Sesshomaru stirred before peaking open his eyes. He felt a thousand times better but was unsure of whether or not he could deal with such an intense burning again. He sat up with a bit of difficultly as he was quite sore. "Hey." Inuyasha spoke quietly before kissing the lord, "Thank you…" His face was flushed.

Sesshomaru deepened the kiss and they headed to the bathroom to clean up. They took their time gentley helping each other with their hair before leaving and getting dressed. Freshly cleaned and dressed, the duo headed out to find out what they daughters had been up to. They had not expected to find the mess that they did. Things were burnt, Sairiu was having a tantrum, and Kiki was crying and being held my a phoenix youki and Nagisa was being treated for burns on his chest and shoulder while Makoto watched vigilantly. Sesshomaru sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "What is going on?"

"Daddy!" "Father!" The two girls cried.

Inuyasha took Kiki away from the guard and looked at the damage she'd done. Sairiu was picked up by her lord-father and held closely. "Explain. He ordered to the guards.

"My lord…it's a very long story." The phoenix reported.

"Begin." The two girls quieted as they were held and soothed. The phoenix explained how over the last week the girls had been very anxious without the two lords near and wanted to see them but were disallowed. The guards and Rin and tried their best to explain that the couldn't come and while Kiki understood better than Sairiu because it's happened before she was still very upset at her fathers disappearance.

"I knew I should've asked Miroku and Sango to take care of her. Ugh." Inuyasha groaned.

The guard continued explaining, stating that today was the worse because he was sure the two were quite fed up. They'd been arguing with each other and fighting regularly. Sairiu took a toy from Kiki but when Kiki took it back she began to cry, so Makoto took the toy from both of them because he didn't want them fighting over it, which is when Kiki became very upset and began crying too. Nagisa tried to comfort them both but Kiki was really upset and ended up burning him through his armor. Apparently, the phoenix youki was patrolling the halls when they called for his help in comforting the tiny fire starter. Which is why he'd been holding Kiki in the first place. All in all the two sounded as if they'd given the castle staff very hard time, which annoyed and upset Inuyasha because his daughter knew how to act when others were watching over her. He wanted to give her some slack because of the incident but it was unacceptable. Setting her down which prompted her to begin crying again, he grabbed two little children's chair and sat them down facing a wall. "Kiki, Sairiu come here, now." He ordered. Sesshomaru sat the girl on her feet and she tearfully walked over. "Clean this mess up."

"Inuyasha there are servan-" Sesshomaru started.

"I know that Sesshomaru, which is why they'll be helping the servants clean up the mess they made." Inuyasha sad with finality. The two inu watched as the girls helped the servants clean up their mess as if it was the worst thing in the world. They were hiccupping and crying but Inuyasha remained stone faced. When everything was finished he told the servants and guards to wait before leaving. "Apologize for causing trouble. Properly."

The two girls continued crying as they bowed and apologized to the castle staff. Something that Sesshomaru was wholly against as royalty should never bow to those of lesser status. "Is that necessary. They are servants, it is their job to clean after them."

"They are people. It is unfair to them and I refuse to let them be spoiled brats. It reflects poorly on us too Sesshomaru." Inuyasha said, face still set in stone. The girls were still whining, "Go sit in the chairs. You two shouldn't be fighting. You shouldn't be giving the servants a hard time. You are old enough to know better." The two sat in the chairs and started crying loudly. "You'll sit there for 5 minutes" It wasn't a long time in reality but to the small children it felt like an eternity. The guards and servants were shocked to disbelief as the children were disciplined. They hadn't expected that from the hanyou as most lord's and lady's allow their children to do whatever they pleased. A lot of them gained a new respect for the hanyou father. Sesshomaru was a bit upset with the punishment, seeing as he'd never been punished as such. When the five minutes were up he sat with the girls, "Are you going to fight again?" The two shook their heads and said no. "Are you going to give the servants and guards a hard time again?" They repeated the action. "Okay, hug each other." The two hugged each other, then he hugged the two tightly and stood with them, pecking each of them on the cheek. They'd stopped crying and where hugging him closely. Sesshomaru wanted to have a talk with the hanyou about discipline and how he didn't approve but with the way the servants bowed and thanked him, and apologized for not being able to handle them he paused in his thoughts.

Within the next few weeks, the castle had finally settled into its version of normalcy as Sesshomaru and Inuyasha had a long conversation about discipline and why it was important. Inuyasha was very frustrated at why the lord didn't get it to the point where he wanted to rip his hair out. They eventually reached an understanding which Inuyasha still wasn't very satisfied with. It was tedious and aggravating but the hanyou let it go.

Inuyasha was getting his daughter ready for a Halloween trip and party with all of his friends who had children. They would take the children pumpkin picking and then to Kouga's home for a small party and pumpkin carving. He dressed her up in a black shirt with a sparkly pumpkin, fleece lined leggings and a sparkly tutu. She was having quite a bit of fun twirling around it in, causing the hanyou to laugh at her antics. He then set out to find the lord and see if Sairiu would like to tag along. When he finally saw the lord, he gasped. The stoic lord was wearing traditional clothing, with dangerous looking youki armor, and heading to the front of the castle very quickly. "Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha called. The lord stopped suddenly and looked back at him eyes narrowed in obvious annoyance. "Dude where's the fire?" Inuyasha asked, walking over to the lord with Kiki's hand in his own.

"Inuyasha, I must leave. I leave Sairiu in your care until I return." Sesshomaru stated.

"Wait what? Why?" Inuyasha's eyebrows knit together in his confusion.

"The people responsible for the attempts, the kidnapping, will die." Was all the lord said as he turned away and continued.

Inuyasha sighed, he couldn't imagine taking someone's life. Picking his daughter up, he hugged her closely. "Let's go find Sairiu."

Sairiu was playing in the garden's with Kiki's puppy. Her curly hair had grown quite a bit and was starting to obstruct her view. "You need a haircut, huh pup?" She nodded and her curls flopped around. Once Sairiu was secure in his hold, he went to find one of the lord's advisors to find out what was going on. Eventually he found Makoto, one of his war advisors and learned that Sesshomaru had substantial evidence to warrant the death of one of the surrounding lords. "Isn't anyone going to go with him?" Inuyasha asked worried.

"My lord, do you doubt the strength of the king? He is able to lay waste to entire kingdoms without breaking so much as a sweat. He will return soon, and unscathed." The advisor chuckled.

It didn't change the fact that Inuyasha was worried, sighing he decided to get Sairiu dressed. She was dressed in Halloween colors as well, with a pin accessory to keep her fringe out of her eyes until she got a haircut. Picking the two up he decided Sesshomaru would prefer if he took guards along so he enlisted Nagisa, Mizuko, and Hiroki. Mainly because the trio were a lot more relaxed than the other guards he's met and he didn't want to make his friends uncomfortable. When the group arrived at Kouga's home, the loud laughter of children could be heard. Kouga opened the door and let them in, Inuyasha introduced the guards and Nagisa gushed at the number of children around the house, from small cubs to children who were slightly older than Sairiu. He went around saying hi to the children causing Mizuko to sigh and roll his eyes. "Heheh, you'd better give him children soon, or he's going to end up kidnapping them." Hiroki chuckled, clasping the other alpha on the shoulder.

Mizuko blushed but his face remained that of stone as he watched his energetic mate interact with all of the parents. Nagisa was currently holding one of Kouga's baby girls and gushing over the blue-eyed cutie's toothless smile. "I want a daughter so much!" He spoke, snuggling the small cub. "They're all so beautiful! Aw but sons are so cute too. I can't decide!"

Ayame laughed, "Be careful what you wish for, you might end up with five of each!"

"Then it's a good thing I want a large family!" He and Ayame got along very well. Mizuko eventually grabbed his mate and reminded him that they were on duty, causing the beta to apologize and frown. The three stood off to the side and kept an eye on the little princesses. Soon the group packed up and headed off to the outskirts of the city, to farmland. When they arrived, the children were bouncing in excitement, all very excited to pick out pumpkins for carving. The older kids ran off, and the guards followed as Kiki and Sairiu were a part of the group. Nagisa helped the princesses cut the stems of their chosen pumpkins and they headed back to where the adults and babies were waiting. Kouga had grabbed three pumpkins that were the same size and cheered triumphantly. Kiki held her pumpkin above her head using her demonic strength. Sairiu's pumpkin was a much more reasonable size and the group headed back to Kouga's home for carving and dinner. It was a loud event but the princesses left with pumpkin pies, jack-o-lanterns, and roasted pumpkin seeds. Inuyasha felt really bad for Kouga however, because when he was making the pumpkin seeds he'd burned himself pretty badly when one of the children got too close and he lost focus. The 'shit' that slipped from his mouth spread like wild fire and many of the kids started repeating him, including Sairiu. Needless to say, not only was there a massive time-out but Kouga was scolded by Ayame about his language around the girls. It was an energetic night as always. Inuyasha was hoping Sairiu had learned her lesson, and learned that it was a bad word that she shouldn't say.

When they arrived to the castle the girls were bathed and put to bed but with Sesshomaru away, Inuyasha was required by blood to act as the standing lord until he returned. His little trip was apparently unacceptable without the proper notice. He rolled his eyes telling the advisors he'd do as he pleased. "I ain't some kid. I'm new to this so cut me some slack!" He growled.

"Well her lady, former lady of the west, has requested an audience." One of the advisors grumbled.

"Fuck. Sesshomaru's mother? What is she doing here?" Inuyasha was annoyed, he didn't sign up for this. "Fine, where the hell is she?"

"According to the guards, she wandered to the playroom…"

Inuyasha sighed and made his way to the empty play room where he found the elegant lady holding a doll with a fond look on her face. "Tell me hanyou, what is it like to have a daughter." Inuyasha didn't answer her question and merely watched as the lady examined the doll. "I expect an answer child!" She chided angrily.

"Why are you here grandma?" Inuyasha sneered and the lady's eyes widened at the grandmother comment.

"I came to see my grandchild." She growled.

"Sesshomaru told me he doesn't want you around her." Inuyasha explained. "He said you are much too cold to be near a child like her."

"What do you mean 'like her'?" She snarled.

"I don't know if I should tell you this but just so you get your panties out of a bunch, she's a very sad little girl who needs to be comforted regularly. And from what I can tell you and Sesshomaru both have issues in that department."

"You dare!"

"Listen, I've seen firsthand how royals raise their kids and it just doesn't sit well with me. Your kids are awful. Sess is so out of tune with his own emotions that he doesn't really even know what to do with his daughter. Ugh just UGH!" Inuyasha began thinking about all of the things he'd had to deal with since coming to live in the castle. He's watched countless awkward interactions between Sesshomaru and his daughter, the secondhand embarrassment was very strong. "And I heard what you said about that puppy! Who cares if she was born out of a mating? She's a kid! So no, I don't give a flying fuck about what you want. You don't deserve to know that little girl." Inuyasha was pissed off. He hated being around royals on a consistent basis and hated how their minds were so clouded with their own shit to the point where they saw nothing wrong with themselves. It made him want to scream most days but he refused to let the little girls he cared about be sucked into this mess. "I'm done talking to you lady."

"Daddy?" Was a quiet voice of a child.

Inuyasha turned to see Sairiu standing there in her night clothing with two guards standing with her and one holding her tiny clawed hand. "Hey princess, what's the matter? Can't sleep?" He lifted her into his arms.

"Scary…" Sairiu mumbled, leading the hanyou to believe she must've had a nightmare and gone looking for either he or Sesshomaru.

"It's okay, everything is okay. Do you want to sleep with Kiki?" He asked. The pup nodded but her eyes had zeroed in on the woman holding her tiny white doll. Inuyasha turned to face the lady and Sairiu shifted so she could keep her eyes on the woman. Inuyasha was quite a few inches taller than the woman and Sairiu felt safe enough in his arms to watch the woman. She wanted her doll, and didn't think the lady would be very kind to it.

Eyeing her doll before once more looking at the woman, "My doll…" She whispered. The former lady of the west looked at the small doll in her hands before gracefully gliding over to the hanyou and child. She handed the doll over which Sairiu promptly snuggled to snuff out the woman's scent on the object. Sairiu hugged it close and curled into Inuyasha because of the proximity of the woman.

"Such unusual hair." The woman observed with interest.

Inuyasha watched the way the woman interacted with the small child who wasn't scared out of her wits this time around. Inuyasha assumed it was because the woman was a lot closer and the scent of family was obvious to the pup this time around. The woman held out her arms for Sairiu, and before Inuyasha could say anything Sairiu leaned towards the woman and allowed her to hold her. Going as far as to even lay her head on the woman's shoulder. The woman looked shocked to say the least as she hugged the tired little girl. "Hello Sairiu. I'm your father's mother." Sairiu nodded from her position as she began to doze off once more.

Inuyasha let the woman walk in front of them as they headed to Kiki's bedroom to put the pup to bed once more. He watched as the woman gently tucked the child in beside his own who was sleeping quite wildly. He adjusted his own daughter who seemed to be having pleasant dreams and left the guards in their positions. "Why?" Inuyasha asked, unsure of what other question he could ask.

The woman turned her nose up, "She is the child of my own." With that she left to the castle gates and flew to her own castle.

Inuyasha was really baffled about the situation. "Maybe she's lonely…" He whispered to himself. Knowing that's how he'd feel if his mate died and he was estranged to his only child. He imagined Kiki never wanting anything to do with him and felt his heart sink. He'd definitely be lonely, even if he had all of his friends. He decided that, for the time being, maybe Sesshomaru's mother wasn't as bad as she made herself out to be.

Sesshomaru still hadn't returned and it'd already been nearly 3 months. Inuyasha was extremely worried but everyone in the castle completely disregarded it. Telling him that the lord has gone out to fight and rage wars without so much as leaving a note beforehand. Even his mother, who had begun coming to the castle quite regularly, confirmed that Sesshomaru had a wanderlust that rivaled even her late mate's. He'd gotten to know the woman and wasn't surprised when she started bringing ridiculously extravagant clothing and toys for the girls. They'd become very comfortable with the woman, going as far as asking him when she would be coming back. Inuyasha became increasingly worried as Sesshomaru's duties piled on to his and raising both girls became a lot more difficult. Inuyasha knew he didn't have the strength to raise more than one child on top of running his businesses alongside the country. He was constantly stressed and felt his heart constrict whenever he thought about whether the lord would return safely. Lying in Sesshomaru's bed, Inuyasha relaxed, done with the duties of the day. He could admit that he missed the Lord and he knew for a fact the girls missed him quite a bit as well, as they asked for him on a consistent basis. Inuyasha sighed and undressed before going to bed himself, it'd been almost a week since he had any sleep and he was ready to fall into a coma.


	9. Chapter 9

Sesshomaru couldn't be more annoyed as he darted away on his ki cloud nearly throwing Jaken off in the process. The bastard king had tested him for too long. He sped to the southern lands as quick as he could and landed at a monument of a castle. All around him the people of the city looked starved and worse for wear. The closer he got to the castle the better the condition of the people, showing a clear difference between social classes. The street kids watched him closely and in awe as he made his way to the castle quickly. Looking around he knew his father would be disappointed if he allowed this to go on any further. The ruler of these lands was a hanyou, but he was no ordinary hanyou. As a human the creature had given his soul in exchange for power. The south was under a dictatorship at the time and the power hungry hanyou was able to rally the citizens and behead the dictator and his family before taking control. The people looked no better off, in fact, they looked even worse than they did before. Guards approached him, weapons in hand, guns pointed.

"His Lord Sesshomaru, requests an audience with yo-" Jaken was cut off as Sesshomaru murdered the men before him before continuing.

"Attacking the princess is makings of war. The southern lands will belong to the west." Sesshomaru growled. Frightening his servant in the process.

Sesshomaru tore the castle down looking for the treacherous hanyou. When the castle no longer stood, he bellowed out a great roar, warning all who were near of the dangerous predator that had entered the lands.

People ran in fear, and armies attacked him mercilessly, but the will of the western lord would be done. He slaughtered everyone who dared to stand in his way. There were several strongholds across the southern lands that Sesshomaru would need to destroy as he was looking for the rogue lord.

After a month, he'd single handedly wiped out every castle, army, and barrier that intended to stop him. The western lord was livid. "How dare that creature think to run? He is truly the spineless swine!" Sesshomaru bellowed making Jaken and the advisors on their knees flinch. He sat in the large throne room of the final stronghold he'd taken over. He wouldn't destroy this one as it would become the central point to his plans. Currently, before him, there were kneeling servants, advisors, and guards. All had their eyes cast down, fearful of the dog king and rightfully so.

"Where. Is. He?" Sesshomaru bit out.

The advisor trembled under the gaze and averted his eyes in submission, "I do not know my lord…I promise…we…we are surprised…he abandoned us."

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, smelling no lie from the advisor. "Jaken. Find out what you can, and do so quickly." The imp hurried to do as the lord ordered and the lord merely stared off into space, lost in thought about the time spent away from his family. He sighed before standing and getting to work on redesigning the infrastructure of the damaged country. It was nearly a month before they found what they needed, by that time Sesshomaru had appointed officials to see to the rebuilding of the nation, before he even thought about merging the two countries into one.

Jaken was able to uncover documents about a mansion hidden in the mountains, one that could be moved at will. Sesshomaru growled, hating the trickery the coward had resorted to. He merely wished to return home to the ones he cared about, and curl into bed with his future mate. As the lord walked he lost himself in thoughts of the snowy-haired hanyou. He pictured his amber eyes and the way the sunlight touched his honeyed skin. The lord sighed, planning to be done with this within the week.

The hanyou was good but not good enough. After what felt like weeks of exploring the mountains, he finally came upon the structure. Low and behold who waited for him at the top, the damned hanyou."Lord Sesshomaru of the West, how nice of you to visit. Welcome." The hanyou snickered.  
"Prepare yourself for your death, hanyou." Sesshomaru growled.

"Such cold words from the one who chases after a hanyou who isn't so different from myself." He sneered.

"My intended holds nothing similar to you, foul creature." Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes and darted forward. The hanyou was able to dodge quite a few of his attacks but not all of them. "Naraku." Sesshomaru glowered. The hanyou lord was finally able to put distance between himself and the demon lord.

Naraku smiled and wiped the blood from his mouth. "I'd try to be a bit kinder Lord Sesshomaru, after all, you wouldn't want any harm to come to your family." Sesshomaru said nothing and merely readied his sword before charging forward. "That's not very nice my Lord. You'll be punished." Naraku looked behind him, "Kill him."

From several angles, beasts and youki of all sorts were charging at him, ready to attack. Sesshomaru defended himself as best he could while being bombarded and seething with rage. Using his light whip he cut the numbers in half and then used Tokijin to slowly pick off the rest. When he finished and the smoke cleared, Naraku was nowhere in sight and his scent had disappeared. Raising his head towards the sky he growled before howling to the heavens. Sesshomaru had never before felt such anger towards one being. He'd threatened his family on more than one occasion even going as far as to try to kidnap them. Sesshomaru knew when he found Naraku again, no matter the cost, he'd make the hanyou suffer. Jaken watched with bated breath as he watched how frustrated his lord and king was, wishing he could make it easier for his lord.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Inuyasha sighed and stretched his legs as he laid in bed. It was quite late into the night and he hadn't been sleeping well with all of the stress and expectations placed on him. He saw a shadow pass his face and opened his eyes. He nearly threw himself to the other side of the bed he laid on when he saw Kiki standing there and watching him sleep. "Hey hun, what's the matter? Did I feel faraway again?"

She shook her head and whispered, "The scary lady is watching me…"

Inuyasha's brow knit together, "Why is she saying some scary movie shit?" He thought to himself. "Do you wanna sleep with daddy tonight?" She nodded as she climbed up. He cradled her in his arms but she was obviously restless. Her eye kept darting around and she continued to squirm uncomfortably. "Honey do you wanna talk about it? What scary lady?"

"The one from grandma's…" She whispered into his chest.

"The guard?" He asked raising a brow when she nodded. That was odd. He didn't have any reason to think his daughter would lie about seeing the woman and it put him on edge. Lifting up, he picked her up as well and headed to Sairiu's room to check on her. On the way Kiki tensed and began to growl causing Inuyasha to stop moving. He decided to trust his daughter's instincts as his own were demanding, knowing that children were a lot more sensitive to things. "Kiki…do you see her?"

"…Yeah…" She whispered through her low growl.

"Why are you watching my daughter?" He asked aloud, gaining the attention of the guards that were posted, who looked at each other in confusion. "Leave, or else." Kiki's growls died down and she snuggled closer to the hanyou. Walking up to a guard he ordered him to find someone who could explain how the woman was getting in unseen. He wanted to know why she was here and hidden. Inuyasha ended up sleeping in Sairiu's room with the two young pups.

In the morning, he found himself sitting with really stuffy old men, who really were leading him into a circle. He eventually called a few of his friends to the castle, including Kouga, Miroku, and Kagome. They all knew magic and demon magic pretty well. He wanted to know how the woman was getting into the magically protected palace and why his daughter was the only one able to sense the woman. When they arrived and were alone together he let them in on the problem and how the old farts were no help. "Well you know Hishime's family is really old, so maybe that has something to do with it." Kagome pondered.

"When you think about it, only women dog demons are capable of magic. Shiro inu tend to be more powerful but she has ancient blood from shiro inu and kuro inu so maybe magic just doesn't work on Kiki." Kouga threw into the air, "Females of certain wolf clans have those abilities like from Ayame's family."

Inuyasha nodded as he watched his daughter feed the babies youki baby food. Kouga had brought two of his daughters and Miroku had brought his daughter as well. "You know. I don't think that's it, because wouldn't Sairiu be wary of her too?" Miroku asked.

"Yeah…" Everyone murmured, eyes finding the little girl gently handing Miroku's daughter. Inuyasha explained very carefully that she must watch her claws and be very gentle with the small girl.

"Could…could it be her disorder?" Kouga asked after a moment. "Youki magic is linked to the youki. Kiki has trouble with hers and so the magic wouldn't effect her because of the disconnect…right?"

Inuyasha's eyes widened, "Bro…that just might be it, because no one noticed her. I actually called their grandma about it too. She said she was going to deal with the problem. But I just don't know…"

"Someone's looking love sick. Sesshomaru still hasn't come back? You know we saw him on the news right?" Kouga teased.

"On the news? Why?" Inuyasha questioned, no having heard anything.

"He's on a rampage through the southern lands. He looked so scary on the news…it looked awful!" Kagome lamented.

"Yeah, he looks pissed and has already killed thousands of people…he's the real deal…a definite taiyoukai…" Kouga added.

Inuyasha rubbed his neck, amazed that he couldn't see the lord doing such a thing. He'd come to know the lord differently than what others saw and the news was making him anxious. How could a person kill so mercilessly and if Sairiu is next in line, what would happen to the sweet girl? His eyes wandered over to her, she was stuck on her knees as the small baby had taken an interest in her curly hair and wouldn't let go. She looked like she was going to cry until Miroku freed her with an apology. "Inuyasha…I didn't say anything before because I was so happy for you but…do you think seeing Sesshomaru…is safe?" Kagome said quietly, "What if he hurts you?"

"Kags, you don't have to worry about that. Youki are incapable of intentionally hurting their mate." Kouga explained.

"Yeah?" She asked, a little of the worry easing, "But what if someone else tries to hurt him because of Sesshomaru."

"Look at who he is though. The Lord Sesshomaru. He has 'The' in his name. I think puppy's pretty safe." Kouga continued.

"Kagome I can take care of myself anyway. I'm just worried about the kids. Something weird is going on and Sesshomaru didn't tell me anything before he left." Inuyasha sighed. "I think I need a break…I'm really stressed out with this whole son of the former lord, dating the current thing." He sniffled and wiped at a few stray tears that had his friends giving him worried stares.

Kiki frowned and crawled into his lap, hugging him. "Daddy don't cry."

"I'm sorry kiddo, I'm okay, I promise." Inuyasha assured his empathetic pup.

"Maybe we can take the kids out to do something. They're on break right now, right?" Miroku suggested, holding onto his daughter who was adamant about going back to bother Sairiu.

"Yeah!" Kouga exclaimed, "My girls haven't really had a chance to enjoy the season." Kouga and Ayame had already created their traditional holiday cards as well as a few depicting more mainstream holidays. Inuyasha couldn't get over how cute the triplets were, and was very proud of his friends. They decided to take a holiday away from the city but he warned his friends that there was apparently a lot of things that he needed to do in order to get away from the castle for something like that as he was just the interim leader.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Sesshomaru, having lost all traces of Naraku, left the lands in frustration, leaving Jaken to work on repairing the scarred lands. As he flew on his ki cloud, his mind wandered back to his family, specifically to his heir this time. He doubted she would be able to handle this type of work, and her training would probably have to start late because of her trauma. Naraku. Naraku had to have been the cause. There was no reason for anyone to have attacked her mother. She had been kind in life, much kinder than what is typical of a youki of her stature. Similar to Lady Kyoge and her brood. When he arrived at the castle he could see how snow covered everything was. Landing in the court yard he went in search of his family but found no trace of them. He was informed that they'd left for the week in order to relax. His advisers informed him of how overworked and upset his sibling had been with all of the rules of the court. Sesshomaru made his way to his office and sat down before beginning to go through paperwork, using his demonic prowess. He was done within half a day before retiring to his bedroom. It smelled of Inuyasha, especially the bedsheets. Climbing in he relaxed and slept for the first time in months. He woke up a few days later when he sensed someone standing in front of him. The presence wasn't hostile so he opened his eyes slowly. His daughter was standing there in a furred coat with a cute hat atop her head that complimented her long curls. "Father."

He sat up and looked down at her, "Hello Sairiu."

He hadn't expected her to tear up and begin crying. "I missed you so much!" He pulled her into his lap and held her close as she cried. Inuyasha came in urgently at her cries and was obviously shocked to see him in bed. Inuyasha's eyes roamed the half-naked youki's body as he held his daughter, his white hair a curtain down his back as he held Inuyasha's gaze.

"…You're back…" Inuyasha stated the obvious.

"That I am." Sesshomaru replied.

Kiki then entered the room, followed by Monshi. "Father!" She squealed before jumping into bed and nipping at him, wanting to play. Sesshomaru pet the young girls head and ears gently, as Inuyasha came to sit on the bed.

"You were gone for a long time…" Inuyasha commented.

"I apologize. That was not my intention…a month at most is what I expected." Sesshomaru explained.

"Did you…find who tried to hurt her." Inuyasha asked, unsure if he wanted to know the answer to that question.

"I did…but he still lives. He has fled, and left his lands to be conquered." Sesshomaru growled lowly. "He is a vile creature that will be wiped from the Earth when I am able."

Inuyasha sighed petting his daughters head and then wiping Sairiu's tears. "That makes me anxious." Sesshomaru's youkai bristled as it demanded he ease his intendeds mind.

"It is late, let us put the children to bed." Sesshomaru stated. They decided to tuck the children in together in Sairiu's room. When they were back in the confines of the lord's room he pulled the hanyou close and connected their lips.

"Sesshomaru…" Inuyasha whispered.

"Inuyasha ease your mind. As you said before, there is no one on this side of the planet capable of killing me. You have nothing to fear, I will see to your safety as is my pleasure to do so." Sesshomaru rumbled into his ear. Inuyasha blushed having forgotten how embarrassed the lord could make him feel. The lord maneuvered them to the bed and slowly began undressing the hanyou. Inuyasha could feel his youkai vibrating in his head at the return of the youki and it was making him dizzy. He felt Sesshomaru's rough hand glide up his body before traveling down and cupping his ass. The lord slowly caressed a nipple with his tongue as a hand rolled over coiled muscles of the engineer. Inuyasha's body was clearly made for what he did. He stopped abruptly and sat up, looking behind him he saw Kiki standing with a frown. "What is it child?" He asked, in his usual tone, while Inuyasha turned a new shade of dark red.

"The scary lady is back…" She whispered.

Sesshomaru knit his brows together and Inuyasha stood up and picked his daughter up. "The female guard from your mother's palace…something's not right." Inuyasha explained.

The taiyoukai said nothing and watched his intended comfort his child. "Father…make her go away…" the pup whined. They went out into the hall and began walking. Similar to last time Kiki tensed and began to growl when she saw the woman.

"Inuyasha, do not run away." Sesshomaru stated before flaring his powerful youki across the radius of the palace, putting guards on high alert. Inuyasha's instincts demanded that his run or submit. He'd never felt anything close to what the lord had let out. His puppy was whining in submission and baring her neck. Guards closest to their position dropped to their backs, he could hear Sairiu crying a ways off in fear. Sesshomaru looked around and finally spotted the woman. Quickly, as she was trying to recover from the way he disrupted her youki, the lord grabbed her by the neck and the air was scented with his poison. She squirmed and began to scream in pain as his poison ate away at her. "What are you doing in my home? And using magic of the clan in this way?" She didn't say anything and merely growled at the lord. He broke her arm and she screamed some more. "You know I detest repeating myself, dear cousin." He broke her other arm, and hand, effectively preventing her from using magic until they healed. She still refused to talk so he broke her leg and gave her a larger dose of his poison. "I hold no care for you and if I learn that you are connected to Naraku, your family will suffer." Sesshomaru growled when her eyes widened at the mention of Naraku. "How are you connected to that foul beast girl!?" He growled angrily, by now several guards including Hiroki, Nagoya, and Mizuki. "Lock her up and do not treat her wounds. She is a traitor to her people and her own kind." He announced. When his eyes met Inuyasha and Kiki he could tell they were put off by his behavior. "Her arms are to be broken every hour, to prevent the use of magic. If she dies before morning then so be it."

He turned on his heel and went back to his room with all eyes on him. When Inuyasha returned, he came alone tucking Kiki in again and having Nagoya and Mizuki guard her as she slept, knowing she was most comfortable with the two inu. Sesshomaru was sitting up in bed and staring off into space. "Are you okay…Sesshomaru?" He asked as he approached the still lord. Inuyasha couldn't even tell if he was breathing by how still he was.

"Do you fear me Inuyasha?" Sesshomaru asked before turning to stare at the hanyou. His piercing gaze made him uncomfortable and yes the lord scared him but he wouldn't admit it fully.

"…sometimes…" Inuyasha whispered but he could tell by the barely visible twitch of the lord's eyes that his words had hurt the lord. Sesshomaru's eyes found the hanyou and watched him stand awkwardly. Inuyasha sighed, "You're really powerful…just how strong are you…?"

Sesshomaru considered this, there had never been a time where he had to use more than half of his strength. "You are a half-demon and yet because of our father you are more powerful than most demons on this planet."

"What..?" Inuyasha questioned.

"I can destroy the world and no one can stop me." Sesshomaru stated simply. Eyes holding Inuyasha's gaze with no emotion at his statement. Inuyasha felt a small spark of fear grow in his chest. The lord wasn't normal, and it was so painfully obvious after the last few months.

"Is Sairiu going to be…" Inuyasha trailed off. It was hard to imagine the little girl as powerful as Sesshomaru.

"Yes." His daughter may not be showing signs of her abilities but it was obvious she would be powerful as she aged.

The hanyou rubbed his arm. He'd known the lord was powerful, he joked about it and while his youkai was elated that such a powerful creature desired them, the other half was having serious doubts. He knew the lord wouldn't be able to harm him but his stomach was in knots when he thought about all of the people the lord had killed. After all, he'd even tortured the girl in front of him and though he wouldn't admit it aloud, he was really terrified of the lord currently. Sesshomaru was silent as he watched emotions flit across the hanyou's face before settling on uncertainty. It was one of the things he liked the most about the engineer, he was very open and easy to read and he didn't lie like others. Another youki would have thrown themselves at his feet and begged the lord to mate them after feeling some of his strength but the hanyou stood strong. "I'm…gonna go to my room…I'll see you later." Sesshomaru watched as the hanyou left, saying nothing and doing nothing. His mind was racing with a million thoughts before he relaxed in the bed and let sleep take him once more.

Inuyasha walked to his room slowly. He was confused and unsure about the current relationship he and the lord had. While the former lady clearly didn't have a problem killing people and he doubted his father did as well, he just didn't have that in him. He never wanted to be placed in a position where he had to murder someone and he didn't know how he felt about Sesshomaru anymore. Sitting on his bed he laid back and sighed. A low humming began and he looked over to Tetsuaiga, which had been mounted on a stand, it was calling to him. Inuyasha picked it up and examined it. The hum was low and comforting. He gave it a small smile, "Thanks."


	10. Chapter 10

Sesshomaru woke a few days later to prodding at his face. When he opened his eyes he met Sairiu's and sat up. A servant entered and bowed to him, clearly here to retrieve his daughter. "How long have I been asleep since catching the intruder?" He asked.

"Two days mi'lord." She answered quietly watching Sairiu climb into the bed with her lord father.

"Where is Inuyasha?" He asked thinking about the stagnant turn their relationship had come upon. It was making him feel strange, Inuyasha feared him…and it didn't sit well in his stomach. He would never hurt the hanyou nor Kiki but he could only remember the way they looked at him. He pulled his daughter close and hugged her. Sairiu wrapped her tiny arms around his neck, hugging him back. The lord could honestly say that he was grateful for Inuyasha. If not for observing his interactions with Kiki he wouldn't know where to start with his own daughter. The servant was a bit shocked at the show of affection but quickly wiped the emotion from her face as to not incur the wrath of the lord.

"To my knowledge he has gone to work." She answered.

"And Kiki?" He knew the hanyou would sometimes bring the young girl along.

"She is in her room playing with Monshi."

Sesshomaru sighed before standing and getting ready for the day. He'd been asleep for quite a bit longer than he'd anticipated and needed to get to work on finding the hanyou dictator, but first he would see to the woman locked in the dungeon.

When Sesshomaru arrived, having left his daughter with the servant, the inu woman wouldn't meet his eyes. Two guards stood, her arms a mangled mess to prevent her from escaping. "Dear cousin. How your betrayl shocked me." His eyes cold and unfeeling. "Whatever reason you might have for betraying your clan will not save you from my fury." The woman frowned and looked up at him, eyes dull. There was clearly something going on with the woman that wasn't quite right. His mother, he'd sent for, arrived minutes later. Face just as cold and unmoving as his.

The woman examined her subject and saw something tainted, resting in her body. "There is something inside of her…controlling her." The woman wouldn't try to remove them, they spoke of human spiritual magic that had the capabilities of purifying her, so she set off to find a priestess.

Hours later, Sesshomaru was surprised to see Inuyasha's friend being escorted nto the castle. She looked terrified and shrank into herself. "Gome!" He heard Kiki's voice as she squealed. It was the first time he'd seen the pup since waking up and wondered if she'd been avoiding him. Kagome pulled the small one into a great hug and gushed at her.

The lord sighed once more and led the girl to his office. He made Kiki leave with a servant, so he could speak with the woman. He explained the situation carefully and as thoroughly as he could. Kagome nodded at his words, "I was raised in a shrine for most of my life, but I'd have to see the energy before deciding what could be done my lord." Kagome continued to explain from the description what she thought the shards could be and why and what it meant for them continuing forward. She was very worried. Her aunt was the head priestess of their shrine and it would maybe one day be passed on to her or her sister should they continue with their teachings. Kagome was more than apprehensive about helping the lord. Inuyasha had visited her a few days ago to vent and it made her incredibly nervous to be near the lord who was stressing out her close friend. She'd initially thought the lord would be good for Inuyasha but it'd been a long time since she saw Inuyasha looking so lost and unsure of himself. If anything, he was even more stubborn and headstrong than Kouga, and that was saying quite a lot. Most hanyou and youki don't even bother making human friends because of how short their lifespans were but they'd all become quite close and she couldn't imagine allowing someone to hurt her family. She'd actually called her sister because she was much better at determining things about auras. While she sat and waited in the office of the lord she fiddled with her hands.

"Um…"

"You can go see to Kiki if that is what you'd like." Sesshomaru stopped her.

"A-actually…I wanted to u-um…to uh…talk about…Inuyasha." She squeaked and nearly darted from her chair with the look the lord gave her from behind his desk. His golden eyes burning with an intensity that made the young woman want to cry.

"What about him?" Sesshomaru clipped.

"Well…he ahhh…he's been feeling...conflicted…" Kagome started explaining. Sesshomaru didn't show it but itpained him. Inuyasha went to a human before speaking with him about it. "Something a lot of youki don't know is that Inuyasha can feel his human half just as equally as his youki." That surprised the youki. He knew very little about hanyou and only since before his father died had they really been given a chance at life. Inuyasha was one of the oldest hanyou alive in his country because of the child protection laws that extended to hanyou children as well. "and he usually talks to me or Miroku when he's having trouble with the human side…because like…well…his youki is pretty much all for the mating thing but his human half is pulling him the other way because of the whole super powerful youki thing and Hishime and all that cause humans, we get pretty attached and its hard for us to let go and move on and stuff and I…uh…I'm really rambling…sorry…I'm just worried about Inuyasha…" She ended, not really knowing what she told the lord or what she should do to help her friend. She had suggested that the hanyou should speak to the lord about how he was feelings but Inuyasha insisted that the lord was too out of touch with his own emotions to understand his plight.

"If you're his friend, why would you go behind his back to tell me this?" If the human answered wrong Sesshomaru was prepared to severe her head from her shoulders. If Inuyasha couldn't confide in those he considered his friend's then what was the point.

"B-because Inuyasha…takes care of everyone and everything but he never takes care of himself…I want him to be happy again…" Kagome ended with a solemn look on her face. She eventually looked up at the lord and gasped silently when she looked pass his piercing gaze to what he hides behind it all. She could see the aura of the lord and knew right away that if Inuyasha could see what she saw on the inside of the lord his fears would dissipate and he would mate the lord. Sesshomaru's aura was a soft white color, it spoke of a troubled youth and a lonely soul. Kagome frowned, she herself knew the lord had killed a great deal of people but she could not see anything malicious within him, only a desire to keep what he cared for safe. Closing her eyes she smiled and sighed before standing. She wanted them to be together, they needed each other. Inuyasha needed someone to finally care for him and the lord needed someone by his side. She clasped her hands together, "I'm sure if you guys have a nice deep chat everything will be okay. I'm rooting for you lord Sesshomaru!" Kagome left with a smile and decided to go find Kiki for more cuddles.

Sesshomaru was left scowling at the door. The girl was weird…but in a way that he liked…she reminded him of Rin. He decided her answer was sufficient. When he and Inuyasha finally mated, Inuyasha would want for nothing and be able to do as he desired. The lord did feel a bit strange as it was the second time one of Inuyasha's friends told him they wanted him to mate Inuyasha.

Hours later, another priestest entered the castle. She was clearly the twin of the first but her eyes were a great deal more serious in nature. She was almost cold in the way she interacted with her energentic sister. "Kikyo, this is Lord Sesshomaru." She nodded but said nothing, dressed in completely traditional clothing as they were led down to the palace dungeons where the traitor's condition had become even worse. Kikyo and Kagome's eyes widened exponentially.

"This can't be!" They said together.

"It's the Shikon no Tama!" Kagome cried out.

"Impossible! It was burned with our ancestors body, hundreds of years ago!" Kikyo stammered.

"Can you remove it?" Sesshomaru's mother asked, having joined them.

Yes, hold her down." Kikyo stated as she and Kagome got to work. When the shards were removed, Kagome purified them with a prayer. The girls arms were finally set to heal but she was taken to another chamber, where her arms were allowed to set incorrectly. Sesshomaru was impatient and needed her to wake up immediately which is why he remained in the lower levels of the castle where not even the most terrible of tortures could be heard from the outside world.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Inuyasha was unfocused as he worked, he eventually called it a day and headed out early. He didn't go to the castle, instead he walked around a park he and Kiki use to frequent. He thought about seeing his daughter run around on the playground sets and calling for him to give her a push on the swing set. He smiled fondly at the memories, he would miss that when she was all grown up. He eventually sat on a bench and sighed with his face in his hand. "Mind if I take this seat?" A deep voice asked.

Inuyasha turned to the stranger and was a little shocked to see the handsome man. "uh yeah." He slid over a bit to give some space.

"I couldn't help but see another hanyou in distress and I was wondering if I could be of any assistance?" The stranger stated.

Inuyasha was a little surprised at the revelation of the man being a hanyou as well. His ruby red eyes were warm, and he had a killer smile to boot. All in all, he was a very attractive man. "I just have a lot on my mind is all."

"Care to unload?" He said with a smile.

"I wouldn't wanna bother you with my problems. I'm sure you have enough of your own anyway." Inuyasha chuckled.

The stranger laughed, "Well I think that can be said for all hanyou, yeah?"

"Oh, I didn't catch your name." Inuyasha said after a moment.

"I do not believe I threw it." Was the response, causing Inuyasha to roll his eyes. "Naraku."

"Inuyasha, nice to meet you. Did you move in recently? I was the only hanyou in the area before I moved out." Inuyasha asked.

"Ah, yes actually. It makes me sad to know I could've made a friend." Naraku replied with a smile.

Inuyasha smirked, "Yeah it's hard for hanyou and even humans in this area. It's mostly youki. Do you have any kids?"

"Oh no, not yet. I'd love to have a few though. If I meet the right person." Naraku nodded, watching a few children be released upon the playground by their parents.

"yeah, it's pretty great being a parent though. I have a daughter, she's only 5 years old now. One of the cutest puppies around." Inuyasha grinned. No one could say with honesty that his daughter wasn't one of the cutest children in the world. He'd been accosted by several child modeling agencies and even pageants. He liked letting her run wild without any restrictions. If she wanted to do pageants or modeling he'd allow her to.

"So, you're mated then?" Naraku questioned.

"Ah, not anymore…" Inuyasha frowned.

"Then be mine." Naraku stated firmly.

"W-wait what?" Inuyasha looked at Naraku with a raised brow.

"You're an interesting person, powerful, and quite handsome. You're definitely my type." Naraku grinned, the glint in his eyes becoming dark and dangerous.

"Um, I'm already seeing someone." Thinking about Sesshomaru made his chest ache a bit.

"You and that cold bastard lord will never work. You need someone who understands you, and can care for your health and your mind Inuyasha. Don't you understand?" Naraku spoke.

Inuyasha's eyes widened and he stood and backed away. "What the hell are you talking about!?" he nearly shouted but a spark of realization shot through his spine… "I never said who I was seeing…who are you?"

"Your future mate, my love." Naraku grinned darkly. All it took for Inuyasha was seeing the listless amount of tentacles that poured from the youki's body before he took off. Naraku was hot on his tail even more so than Sesshomaru had. He was terrified and didn't know what the hanyou was planning to do if he was caught, but he wouldn't dare try to find out.

Running for several hours in the cold, Inuyasha refused to head to the castle where there was a possibility of the hanyou harming his young child. He had cuts and bruises all over his body and panic rushing throughout his chest. His youkai demanded that they howl for assistance, but his human was sure it would only lead to more problems but both halves agreed that they needed help. Inuyasha could practically feel the tentacles on him and his body fought with itself. He wanted Sesshomaru to help him. His usual abilities weren't working on the hanyou, who clearly had regenerative abilities. So, Inuyasha's only option was to run, but running in the freezing cold was leagues different than during Sesshomaru's mating chase. His overheated body was being attacked by the cold and he felt it starting to wear him down. All it took was a tentacle around his waist and the ripping sound of his clothing before instinct won and he let out the loudest, heart aching howl of his short life. The ground shook with the force of it but nothing happened. Inuyasha was stuck as his body was completely enveloped by the tentacles and he passed out from the lack of oxygen.

When he woke, he lay in a plush bed. Sitting up quickly he looked around realizing that he'd been kidnapped. He was completely naked to his dismay as he made sure there was no harm done to his body. His heart was thundering loudly in his chest as he looked for a way out. The window was a complete no go as the fall was not a flat one he could land on. The jagged rocks at the bottom couldn't be accounted for in the descent and he could kill himself trying, he couldn't die, his daughter needed him. His eyes found the door. Steeling his resolve, he opened it only to be greeted by a small girl with white hair and blank black eyes. She was cute in a creepy way.

"Master would like to see you sir." She stated, voice barely above a whisper. Inuyasha frowned, the little girl looked broken and devoid of any emotion. A servant appeared with clothing which the hanyou pulled on slowly. He needed to find a way out of this place. He was lead through various halls as he tried to memorize the paths but it was entirely too much for the amount of anxiety coursing through his mind. They entered a sitting room and Naraku was lounging calmly. Inuyasha began to growl. The spider hanyou smirked at the inu. Clearly amused.

"Calm yourself Inuyasha." He stated. Inuyasha's octave rose. "I'd like to make a deal with you Inu-ya-sha." The hanyou said, punctuating each syllable. He stood and Inuyasha took a step back in preparation for a fight. "You're quite strong. Strong enough to fend against the bastard lord of the west." Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. "I know about your relationship with that beast, but I'm wondering how close you two actually are ne?" Naraku began laughing then. A cruel, vindictive laughter. "Bring her out!" From another door, servants wheeled in a large glass chamber with a woman sitting in the middle. Inuyasha's head began to feel fuzzy the closer they brought the being. "Kill the lord of the west, and I'll return your late mate to you Inuyasha. Your daughter deserves to have a mother, doesn't she?" Naraku continued to cackle.

Inuyasha's eyes widened exponentially when the being finally looked up. It was her…his mate, Hishime. Inuyasha felt tears sting at his eyes, "…Hishi…me?" Tears began pouring down her face as she shook her head and flames erupted around her within the chamber.

Inuyasha could see her mouthing, "Run away! Inuyasha! Run away!" As her own flames began to obscure her from view. Miasma began to fill the area as Inuyasha stared in shock.

"You could have the family you've always wanted." Naraku whispered as he came closer. "I have the power to bring anyone back from the dead. Anyone at all. It wasn't fair that she was taken from you. Think about how happy will Kiki be to know that her mommy is no longer in heaven." Inuyasha couldn't remove his eyes from his lost lover. Naraku was behind him and snaked his arms around the hanyou's waist. "Give yourself to me Inuyasha…and you can have her back…and not even god could take her from you again." Naraku's hands found his chest and nipples. His mouth at Inuyasha's neck, kissing and sucking. "You see Inuyasha…All of us have had something taken from us, except Lord Sesshomaru." Naraku's hands found the waistband of his pants. "He doesn't know what it feels like to lose something dear, Inuyasha." Hands dipping pass Naraku found his prize. The spider pulled Inuyasha's back to his chest as he began stroking his length. "You and I both lost something so near and dear to us love." While his body was trapped against the spider his eyes were locked on a crying Hishime who was screaming and furiously trying to escape the chamber to save her past mate from being violated by the spider. Inuyasha was too far gone in shock to notice what the spider was doing to him and it was a matter of seconds before it was too late. The dictator licked his lips as Inuyasha's body reacted accordingly. Precum dribbled from his tip and Naraku began to stroke faster, causing an increase in breath from the dazed hanyou. Naraku continued to attack the hanyou's neck and chest as he brought the hanyou closer to his end. "Tell me Inuyasha. Do you want your mate back?"

"…ye…" Inuyasha panted in his daze.

"Answer me." Naraku growled as he stroked faster.

"…yes…" The inu answered. Naraku grinned deviously and latched onto the hanyou's neck, forcing a shard of the Shikon no tama through his skin and into his body as he reached climax.

"There's only one thing you need to do to keep her Inuyasha…Kill Sesshomaru…" Naraku whispered as he stroked Inuyasha through his climax. "Kill him and you can be happy. Kill him and you'll know what love is again." Naraku continued as he licked Inuyasha's cum from his fingers. Inuyasha's bright golden eyes dulled and the resurrected Hishime watched helplessly. Crying as her best friend and lover lost himself.

Naraku released Inuyasha from his grip and sent him with Kanna for armor and weapons. His plan was falling into place perfectly. He would have his revenge on the lord of the west for the way that he wronged him.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Sesshomaru stood stalk still alongside his mother as the guard finally woke. She looked around, unsure of where she was. Seeing the Lady and Lord, she blinked a few times. "Explain yourself." Sesshomaru stated coldly.

She continued staring at them before her eyes filled with tears. "I'm so sorry! I wanted her back so much that I..? And he…? Hitoru…Suki! My baby~!" She cried hysterically.

Lady Shayou frowned. "Suki is the name of her only child that was killed in an accident. She was only 7 years of age."

"He promised to give her back! I saw them…I held them…but when I didn't hurt the princesses…he put the shards in me and made me kill them both…." She screeched. "I only wanted them back! I'm so sorry my lady!" She continued to cry her heart out.

Lady Shayou brought the girl into her embrace. Kagome and her sister looked on, feeling sorry for the woman. Lady Shayou brought her hands up to the woman's tearful face…and snapped her neck. "The west has no place for traitors. Rest well and I will pray that our ancestors forgive you." She whispered to the now deceased woman. "Find your family in the afterlife." She kissed the woman's crescent moon. "Prepare her body for burial. She will be placed with her mate and child."

Kagome was crying and holding on to her stronger twin sister. She'd never seen someone be killed before and could hear her heart thumping in her ears. She eventually threw up before rushing out of the dark chambers.

"So, he coaxed her with the promise of returning her loved ones." Sesshomaru sated thoughtfully. "He's not going to attack us outright. He uses others."

"Such is a coward Sesshomaru. Might I ask what you've done to anger him so?" Lady Shayou questioned.

"Before he came into power I had not met him before." Sesshomaru stated.

"Then I wonder his motive for all of this chaos."

"It matters not. He will die when I find him." Sesshomaru took his leave. He found himself sitting at his desk for a few hours then wandering around the halls of his home. The lord decided now would be a good time to talk to Inuyasha and Kiki about what he did but Inuyasha hadn't returned yet but he found Kiki in the playroom.

"Kiki." She turned to look up at him but returned to playing with her toys. He came and sat next to her. "Kiki." He saw her frown and sniffle. "Puppy, are you okay?" Sesshomaru could smell her fear rising and frowned himself. He picked her up and she began to cry loudly in her mother's language. The lord hugged her close and used his youkai to sooth her. "I scared you didn't I. I'm so sorry Kiki, I didn't mean to scare you and your dad." She continued to cry and he pet her head that rested on his shoulder. "I was just very angry that she tried to hurt you puppy. There's a bad person out there trying to hurt you and Sairiu but instead of being a good guard she turned bad. I don't want anyone hurting my family, okay Kiki?"

In took a few more minutes, but soon she was hiccups and sniffles. "Not gonna hurt?" Sesshomaru frowned. It hurt to know that she thought he might hurt her. It made the lord very sad to know that he'd scared her that much.

"Never. I love you too much." Sesshomaru smiled at the teary, sleepy eyes.

"Daddy too?" She asked innocently.

"Yes, I love him too." The lord blushed when he realized what he'd said, but too a deep breath and nodded, accepting it as the truth. "Do you forgive me princess Kyung-soon?"

Her full name brought a smile to the small girl's face and she nodded before hugging him tightly. His youki was having a hard time connecting to hers but eventually established some form of connection causing her to relax in his arms. He decided to tuck her in with Sairiu, who was sitting up in bed playing with a book that had little puppets attached and Monshi. A servant changed Kiki's clothes and Sesshomaru sat in bed with the girls. Kiki brought a book and Sesshomaru thought she was going to give it to him to read but instead the two girls took turns reading to the lord. Sesshomaru smiled, he'd missed this the most.


	11. Chapter 11

It'd almost been an entire 24hr since Inuyasha was last seen in the castle. He understood that the hanyou was upset but he wouldn't leave his daughter wondering about where he was. As Sesshomaru paced through the halls that's when he felt it. The killing intent. He managed to dodge the strike aimed at his throat which found his long hair as it's victim. Sesshomaru countered and threw his assailant before getting a good look at him. His heart fell. Before him stood Inuyasha, clad in demonic armor and wielding a sword he'd never seen before. "Inuyasha?"

The hanyou came in to attack once more, all the lord could do was dodge since he didn't have his sword with him. The battle sent the castle into a frenzy as Sesshomaru was finally able to summon Toukijin. With that he countered and pushed Inuyasha back. Sesshomaru was trying his hardest not to hurt the one he desired so but with Inuyasha after his blood he soon felt he wouldn't have a choice but to hurt him. However, he soon realized that none of his damage was sticking to Inuyasha and every hit healed just as quickly as it had been made.

The lord couldn't believe his eyes, Inuyasha was completely emotionless as he attacked the lord, with only one goal in mind. Sesshomaru blocked hit after hit before he was finally able to disarm the hanyou. However, Inuyasha just came in with hand to hand combat. He never would have guessed this level of skill from someone hwo hadn't been raised in a dojo or nobility. "Inuyasha please! Wake up!" Inuyasha said nothing and continued to attack him, forcing Sesshomaru to use his poison whip to create distance between them. "Inuyasha, what's the matter with you?"

"Father!" Sesshomaru heard his daughter and Kiki cry out. However, the lord would be a fool to take his eyes off of Inuyasha.

"Princesses, we have to get away from here it's not safe!" Rin cried as she forcibly gathered the girls with all of her human strength.

Kiki pulled away and screamed, "Father help daddy!" The girl could sense something wasn't right with her father. He wasn't all the way there and seemed farther away than usual and it made her feel sick as she fell into sobs as Nagisa gathered her to protect her from the battle as Mizuki lead them away. "Daddy!" She cried out once last time before they disappeared. Visibly causing Inuyasha to twitch and blink a few times. If the lord went by what Kiki had said, then someone was controlling Inuyasha.

Sesshomaru bit his lip. He knew in his heart that he should have gone after him when he left to his own room. "Inuyasha…I don't understand what is going on, but I will free you from this curse."

A thick miasma began to coat the area. "Inuyasha!" Kagome called with her shrill voice. She and her sister had sensed the miasma and came to try to contain it before it tainted the area. A low rumble of laughter was heard.

"Do not waste time Inuyasha. Kill the lord of the west!" The voice cackled. Sesshomaru growled as he was once again on the defensive, dodging all of Inuyasha's attacked and his own being useless. Inuyasha seemed to struggle as his eyes began to water and tears fell. The figure the voice belonged to finally appeared, and Kagome and Kikyo began firing sacred arrows at the being with surprising accuracy on Kagome's part. Naraku sent a hoard of demons their way as he pulled Inuyasha back to him and away from Sesshomaru with whom he kept eye contact.

"What do you want, retched creature!" Sesshomaru snarled at the way Naraku's hands roamed his body.

Naraku only smirked, "I want what you have Lord Sesshomaru, what you took from me." He licked the side of Inuyasha's neck, seeing the rage building in the inu lord. "You took Tsukimi from me, so I'll be taking him from you." Naraku chuckled.

"I wouldn't dare allow you to have him, you filthy beast." Sesshomaru growled.

"Who's to say I haven't already had him Lord Sesshomaru." Naraku's hand rested on Inuyasha's lower abdomen. "He's quite the fertile being, it's a good thing I want a large family." Sesshomaru lost all control then. He'd never been more furious that what he was currently feeling. His youki lashed out powerfully, even Naraku began to doubt himself. Naraku had no right to touch what was rightfully his and would suffer the cruelest fate even he could think of. "Tsukimi had always held my eye Sesshomaru, but when she saw you she stopped looking at me and even gave birth to that bastard of yours. We would've made such a lovely ruling couple, but I'll settle for this Inu instead. I wonder if our children will have these cute kouinu ears as well." Naraku dragged his tongue up the side of Inuyasha's ear as his hands roamed his body.

At Naraku's castle sat a dejected reanimated corpse. She'd cried for what seemed like days. When she was first reanimated she couldn't believe it and wanted to see Inuyasha as soon as possible. Naraku wanted to use her to separate Sesshomaru and Inuyasha, but when she realized it'd been five years and Inuyasha had been alone all that time, she refused to harm what she saw. Inuyasha had that light in his eyes, that fiery love and loyalty reserved for those he trusted with his heart and life. When she refused he locked her in this cage, and when she saw him and saw Naraku abusing him being able to do nothing about it she wanted to die once more. Inuyasha had such a kind soul he didn't deserve the pain.

"What would you do if I released you?" A voice sounded from the shadows.

"Kill him." Was her angered reply.

"We'll see then won't we." Hishime got a better look, seeing that it was Kagura releasing her from her cage. Hishime wasted no time as she sprinted away, looking for a way out she stumbled upon a scene of a different type. It as a bedroom, there was a shiroinu woman chained to the bed.

"I-I'll do whatever you want…just don't hurt her…please..." She whimpered.

"Who are you?" Hishime asked.

The woman looked up, eyes wide at the new voice. "P-please! I have to find my daughter…please!" Hishime looked around frantically for the keys, freeing the woman who quickly pulled on whatever she could find they went their separate ways. However, their paths converged once more.

"Go to the Western Palace." Was Kagura's voice from atop her feather. "Your children need you." With that she was gone.

The two inu took off towards the west, the shiroinu woman transforming and taking to the skies while Hishime, with her power of fire, shot herself through the sky towards her loved ones. She found herself eyeing the other woman several times as they darted away. Inuyasha was half shiroinu, other than him and the lord of the lands, she'd never seen another.

Sesshomaru had never felt his youki being released in such a fury. The last time he lost control was when he was still a young teen under the supervision of his father. He felt the surrounding area begin to erode. The demons that Naraku was summoning ran away. Naraku had underestimated the strength of the lord. He could tell he was still only feeling part the youki's true power. The hanyou bit his lip and Inuyasha groaned in his grip, youkai wanting to submit to the powerful inu. Sesshomaru's face had taken on a grotesque mixture of his humanoid and true form. Sesshomaru was seething with anger at the thought that Naraku might've hurt Inuyasha sexually.

Naraku didn't blink but the lord was gone. He released Inuyasha and looked around in frustration, angered by the turn of events. He was sent flying into the castle, a wall crumbling on top of him. Growling in frustration the hanyou freed himself, miasma pouring in the area even more, but now that the youki had been scattered, Kagome and Kikyo were able to focus on the task at hand. Naraku saw Sesshomaru atop Inuyasha, the weight of his youki bearing down on the hanyou under his control. "Kill Sesshomaru Inuyasha! Or do you never want to see her again!?" He shouted angrily. That stopped Inuyasha from instinctually submitting as he began to fight back against the demon lord.

Kikyo and Kagome began firing arrows at Naraku and Guards from the castle, and the palace of Lady Shayou began to surround him. Sesshomaru had Inuyasha pinned and more and more of his youki power released as he was intent on making Inuyasha submit to him. It was hard for the humans and youki alike to be near the lord. "Sis there's a shard in Inuyasha's neck!" Kagome shouted.

"Enough! I won't let you win!" Tendrils shot from the former hanyou lord and try as they might the guards were having a hard time under the weight of the lord's youki. Inuyasha was suddenly unable to breathe. "Back away from him Sesshomaru, or do you wish for his death?" Sesshomaru came to his senses as he put a hold on his youki and grit his teeth. "To think the youki lord of the west would fall for a hanyou, how amusing." Soon the youki returned without Sesshomaru's youki to keep them at bay. "The lord of the lands, allowing his men to die for the sake of a single hanyou. Inuyasha, come here." Wordlessly Inuyasha stood and fought out of Sesshomaru's grip.

"We need to get the shard out of his neck Lord Sesshomaru!" Kagome shouted as she fired her arrows. However, Sesshomaru was lost. He didn't know what he could do to save Inuyasha, without hurting him or putting him in danger. He'd never fought against someone he cared so deeply for and he felt his heart ache as he slashed through Naraku's minions. His heart ached for another reason as well. Naraku had promised to give Inuyasha his dead mate…which is why Inuyasha was in the state he was in. Sesshomaru felt his heart breaking into several pieces. He wished he could reverse time, for just a few weeks so he could convince Inuyasha to be his mate quicker. Make him fall in love with him deeper than he'd ever been with the woman Hishime.

"Inuyasha!" Was a shout from a distance before Naraku was knocked back at the flames sent his way. Sesshomaru couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the shiro inu demonesses.

"Tsukimi." He stated when she changed to her humanoid form.

"Where is my pup!?" She growled angrily. Her abilities and lineage becoming clear to all. While her house had never been as strong as Sesshomaru's she still held a great deal of power. Kagome noticed something odd then. The Shikon Jewel shard embedded in both Hishime and Tsukimi was pink while the one inside of Inuyasha was purple, tainted. While she was shocked at Hishime's appearance, now was not the time. She rushed to Inuyasha while everyone was distracted and with a prayer that he would definitely feel later, she pulled the shard from his neck. Out of reflex Inuyasha clawed at her, leaving long jagged marks across her abdomen as he slumped over in pain from the removal. Kagome prayed to purify the shard as he sister rushed over in tears and began healing her. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"How dare you wretched human." Naraku looked at the scene before him. It would not work out in his favor. He no longer had a way to control Sesshomaru and the look on the lord's empty face frightened him. He growled angrily wondering how the wenches escaped when his thoughts turned to Kagura. Naraku laughed hysterically, "This isn't over." Before Sesshomaru could stop him, he was gone. Sesshomaru growled angrily, before yelling louder than anyone had ever heard the quiet lord, "CODE: KTB:1574" Before the clueless human's and inu knew it, sirens were going off all over the country. Sirens warning the citizens to evacuate to the safehouses. Sesshomaru would not let Naraku get away, but he wouldn't harm his people. Inuyasha was still completely out of it, and Kagome couldn't take her eyes off those of the reanimated.

A loud scream from a child was heard and the inu demonesses took off. Sesshomaru looked at Inuyasha who lay passed out on the ground. He approached quickly, "Inuyasha! Wake yo we have to go!" Sesshomaru growled. Soon, Golden eyes opened and tears began to fall.

"Sess...I'm so..." Inuyasha's apology was cut off by the strong embrace he received.

"Thank Kami you're okay." He felt the lord's grip tighten, "Thank Kami..." Sesshomaru was erasing any trace of the spider hanyou's scent from Inuyasha's body, covering it with his own scent. "Inuyasha, we must find our children." Helping the hanyou stand, Inuyasha finally saw the damage that had been done.

"Kagome!" He called when he saw her being lifted into a helicopter. Kikyo glared at him angrily.

"Inuyasha! Kiki! Go find Kiki!" She shouted.

Inuyasha was finally able to orient himself and took off with Sesshomaru. They arrived where the child's scream had been heard. Nagisa was holding his mate who had been severely injured. "Mizu-chan please...!" He cries fitfully, "We're supposed to have a hundred puppies remember!" Inuyasha felt his stomach clenched tightly as he searched for his daughter. "My Lord's...to the south..." Mizuki whispered through the blood pouring from his mouth. "We're sorry..." he said with the tears in his eyes spilling over before he passed out and the medical team took over.

Sesshomaru and Inuyasha darted towards the south with over three hundred soldiers. "The children are the priority! Should I perish my mother will assume regency until Sairiu is of age. Is this understood!" Sesshomaru verbally sighed a will, unsure of what it would take to save their children but knowing he would give his life.

Inuyasha could see they were on the right path based on the flames. The scene they came to was horrific. Their children were being held tightly by the hanyous extra appendages. Inuyasha's jaw dropped when he saw Hishime fending off against a monstrous creature alongside a shiroinudemoness. Sairiu was crying loudly, "Mommy!" She cried in her mother tongue. Naraku squeezes her tightly causing her to cry out in pain.

"Puppy, mommy's coming!" Tsukimi called back.

Sesshomaru forced Inuyasha to focus as they descended upon the spider hanyou. Attacking vigorously to free their children. Kiki was red in the face and growling defiantly. Naraku wasn't ready for the amount of fire she output as a result. The tentacles surrounding her became charred and Natalie tried to strike her unconscious with the back of his hand but Sairiu caught it with her teeth and bit down as hard as she could. A sizzling could be heard and Natalie realized the spend ages on the girl were eroding and he felt a poison enter his blood. Sairiu growled at she held on with all of her might, eventually biting completely through the hand and growling loudly. Sesshomaru smirked proudly as the distraction the kids caused gave he and Inuyasha time to get close and soon enough tentacles were severed and the girls began free falling quickly. Hishime was able to catch them both and dart away to safety, followed quickly by Tsukimi.

"This isn't right!" Naraku cried out. "I won't let it end like this!" He shouted as he sent off a destructive blast. It moved quickly towards a dazed Inuyasha that watched his deceased mate escape with their daughter. The blast would kill him instantly. However, without any thought, Sesshomaru was in front of him. Taking the blast on completely. Inuyasha's eyes were wide in shock. Surely the lord would die from such a blast. It was bright and powerful, blinding him and everyone else in the vicinity. His heart clenched tightly, and he realized how much he needed the lord.

When the power subsided everyone saw Sesshomaru standing there unscathed. A sword in his hand that had never been seen before. Sesshomaru examined the blade, "Bakusaiga..." It seemed to whisper to him.

"Inuyasha...it is time to end the fool who thought to hurt our children." Sesshomaru growled.

Inuyasha nodded and felt a pull. Looking over his shoulder a catching the rapidly flying object he held Tetsuaiga in his hand. It vibrated with what seemed like joy as he unsheathed it. "He'll wish he never heard my name." Together the two descended upon the incredulous former hanyou lord.

"This is impossible!" He shouted as they attacked. The two inu in sync.

Naraku tried to put up a barrier but it was destroyed by two sacred arrows fired from a helicopter. The area was covered in the insects controlled by Naraku as they were massacred. For the first time since before he became a lord, Naraku was scared. He couldn't think fast enough to get away and now with the level of demonic energy bursting towards him from the two Inu he would be no more. Had it not been for the demonesses escaping he would've been long gone. With enough time to hatch a new plan. The power was upon him, destroying his physical body in a matter of seconds.

When the blast cleared Naraku's various creatures disintegrated into nothingness and an eruption of cheering was heard from the guards and soldiers. It was finally over.

Inuyasha darted off in the direction of their children with Sesshomaru hot on his tail. When he saw Hishine he fell to his knees. Kiki was a distance away from her crouched low with her tail swishing aggressively. "Hishime…"

Kiki sprinted over to him, crawling into his lap and crying. "Daddy scary!" She cried. Inuyasha held her close as he stared at his late mate.

She was as beautiful as he remembered. He felt his eyes sting with tears as they began to fall uncontrollably. "Hishi...me…" His voice cracked and his arms tighten around their daughter.


	12. Chapter 12

Sairiu's tears could be hear throughout the area as she cried in her mother's arms. Tsukimi held her close as she too, cried. "My sweet little princess. Light of my life, I love you so much." She cried softly.

The shiroinu demoness looked up at the approaching footsteps. Her heart pace increased tenfold and the scent of her fear was thick in the air. She bowed in her position, "Forgive me lord Sesshomaru..."

Sesshomaru glared at her, "How could I ever?"

The shock of the statement sent a jolt of fear down Tsukimi's spine. Her fear was beginning to scare her daughter who cried harder. "I-it was not my i-intention to keep her from you... I didn't know...what to do..." The whole time she didn't meet the lords gaze.

"Mommy, don't cry. Father will keep everyone safe." Sairiu said through her own tears as she wiped her mother's, not knowing that the previous danger had passed, and it was her father who was the danger here.

"Thank you..." Tsukimi began to speak again. She looked up this time, looking the lord directly into his cold gaze. "Thank you for accepting and taking care of her! Thank you so very much my lord." Tsukimi then looked into her daughter wide golden eyes, her daughter who looked so much like her father but graces with her own curls. "She is my most precious jewel. So please...continue to take care of her." She bowed.

"Such a request is unnecessary. She is of my blood and will be cared for accordingly." Was the cold statement from the lord that held so much meaning.

Tsukimi gave a sad smile knowing she couldn't remain in the land of the living. However, knowing her daughter would be rightfully cared for eased her soul and she knew for a fact that she could rest in peace. She kissed her daughters moon and hugged her close. "Sairiu, my beautiful rose, light of my life, apple of my eye, stars in my sky." The series of endearments caused Sairiu to smile happily, her mother always called her things like that. Sairiu snuggled close to her whimpering and whining for her absolute attention. "More than the moon loves the sun, the birds love the sky, the trees love the Earth, or horizon loves the sea, I love you the most. My dearest daughter. My laughter, my joy. You will grow to be someone else amazing, of that I have no doubt. You are bright like the sun, and a part of the glorious moon." Tsukimi caressed the moon on her daughter's forehead. "But you are also a part of the loving sea. The water loves you and always will for my clan is of the sea, not the sky. You are loved by both as you are loved by your mother and your father. Remember always Sairiu, you are loved."

Tsukimi began to cry once more, her small daughter whipping her tears. "Mommy don't cry."

"It may not always feel like it my love, but I am always with you..." With that she pulled her daughter close and began to sing. It was an ancient song that her clan used as a lullaby, so children would always remember how to call to the sea. After a moment Sairiu joined her mother, singing the lullaby happily. Sesshomaru watched their touching moment with a straight face before his eyes wandered to Inuyasha who cried while holding his daughter.

Hishime sat in front of him with tears in her own eyes, "Inuyasha..."

Inuyasha could only stare at her and cry as he held their daughter tightly in his arms. Kiki had long since stopped crying and was only staring at the woman, unsure of what to make of her. She smelled like how her father did, very close family but also like dirt which made her uncomfortable. "Mommy?" Kiki's tiny voice brought Hishime back to reality as she stared down at her large golden eyes.

"Yeah baby…it's me…" She frowned tearfully. Once it was confirmed, Kiki was unable to take her eyes off her mother. Hishime scooted closer to her former mate and child, taking one hand she caressed Inuyasha's face. "Inuyasha…she's so beautiful and brave…you've done so well…I'm so happy…" She smiled. "But…" The 'but' brought Inuyasha from his stupor as he looked at the ground, unable to look at her anymore. "You've been hurting for so long…and pushing everyone away…haven't you…?"

"Hishime…I just…I can't…" Inuyasha's voice cracked. Hishime moved his bangs from his forehead and Hishime saw that same scared little kid who had gotten beat up on the playground but only cried when he was alone from when they were children.

"Inuyasha…you were the love of my life…and you always will be…but I had my time…and your youki wants to move on." Hishime whispered quietly. Inuyasha shook his head in silent protest.

Hishime's eyes found the lord who stood watching them. She sighed heavily. "Yaya…"

"Hime…I can't…" Inuyasha sniffled, "…I need you…" He cried in her native tongue.

Hishime frowned before straightening up and gripping Inuyasha's face tightly, "No you don't!" She said angrily, "And you haven't for so long Inuyasha." She placed a kiss on his forehead. "This version of you, so grown up, so powerful, and so smart doesn't need me anymore. You started to move on without realizing it, and when you started to feel what you felt for me you started to push it away, because you're scared of losing people you care about…" Hishime finally hugged Inuyasha tightly, squishing Kiki between them. "I want you to move on Inuyasha…I don't want you to be lonely…I want you to be happy…"

"Then stay!" Inuyasha cried, "Stay with us…stay with me…"

Hishime smiled sadly before standing, helping Inuyasha to rise. "You already have someone beside you." She grinned happily, looking over at the stoic lord, now distracted by his animated daughter. "He loves you Inuyasha." She could see Inuyasha looking at the lord sadly but with a light of relief in his eyes. "And I know you love him too.

"I do…" Was Inuyasha's tearful response.

Turning her attention from her emotionally distraught former mate, she looked down at their five-year-old daughter. "I'm going to fix her youki." She reached out for her daughter who shied away at first but allowed her to pick her up. Kiki felt warm and comfortable as she was fed her mother's youki. It made her swoon and cuddle up to the maternal embrace she'd never known. She could feel all of the youki around her and most importantly, her connection with her fathers youki. "That's better, huh puppy?" Kiki began to yip and wiggle happily, barking excitedly like an actual puppy, because her excitement caused her to forget spoken word. Hishime snuggled her pup for a bit, happy to be able to hold her in her arms. "My cute little puppy looks just like her papa huh?" Hishime kissed Kiki rapidly, making Inuyasha's heart ache. However, the pup soon wiggled from the embrace and ran to the stoic lord, hiding behind him shyly. She wanted to talk to her mother, but she felt extremely put off by the smell of dirt.

"Father, my mommy." She said pointing to the inu demoness.

"Yes child, I see her." He responded quietly.

"She's pretty…" Kiki whispered behind him.

"As are you." Sesshomaru reminded her. "Do not hide away Kiki, she wishes to see you." Kiki looked up at the lord with a worried expression, "Go on." He said, knowing the woman died in childbirth, this was Kiki's chance to know her, even if it was only a bit. He wasn't so shallow as to wish her away to keep Inuyasha and Kiki to himself…or was he?

Sesshomaru watched her return to Inuyasha's side before his eyes were back to Tsukimi and his daughter. They stayed in the field for what felt like hours before the elder twin priestess returned. "I'm sorry…but the jewel must be made whole and then destroyed."

The two inu demonesses smile sadly, "I know. I don't belong in this world anymore. The ones I love are in great hands. I couldn't be happier." Hishime said with a wild grin that reminded Sesshomaru of Kiki.

"I too am very happy my puppy is safe. I'd thought the worse had happened to her…" Tsukimi teared up and Sairiu wiped them away.

Tsukimi handed Sairiu to her father before smiling sadly. "Mommy, where are you going?"

"My love, mommy has to go back to our ancestors." Tsukimi stated quietly.

"I'll go too!" She stated reaching out to the woman.

"No puppy, your father needs someone to take care of him. I need to go back to the ancestors so that I can watch over you my heart." Tsukimi smiled sadly.

"Don't go!" Sairiu cried. "No!"

"Saisai it okay. Mommies came to help, now they go back to heaven to keep us safe, right daddy?" Kiki stated, not understanding why her cousin was so upset about the women leaving. However, when she looked up at her dad she noticed the tears streaming down his face. "Daddy don't cry." She frowned and teared up. She looked up at Sesshomaru for help, but he was looking away emotionlessly.

"Please come with me." Kikyo stated. The two inu demonesses walked away smiling back sadly at their crying family members.

Sesshomaru looked at Inuyasha, whose face was hidden behind his bangs. His daughter was crying loudly in his arms. "I'm sorry." He said as he rubbed her back. "I'm sorry I don't understand how you're feeling." He stated, unsure of who he was talking to. The lord closed the distance between himself and Inuyasha before pulling him into is embrace. "It'll be okay Inuyasha. I'm sorry." Holding the two of them close, he let his youki leak out as soothing and reassuring as he could possibly make it. "I love you all so much…"

Inuyasha's eyes widened at the statement and his heart pounded loudly in his ears. He cried harder with the realization that here in Sesshomaru's arms it hurt a lot less. He realized that if he had Sesshomaru he didn't need her and it hurt. "Daddy don't cry…" Kiki whimpered from where she stood holding on to his and Sesshomaru's pants.

"We should go to the tower…while they rebuild here…" Sesshomaru said gently. Inuyasha nodded in his embrace. Sesshomaru gathered his youki and formed his cloud before they darted towards the towers where he settles in bed with his small emotionally worn family.

Inuyasha woke up in a familiar bed. His puppy was plastered to his chest and he could see the sleeping faces of Sesshomaru and Sairiu. A lot had happened the previous day which caused him to tear up. Hishime was still teaching him lessons. When he realized he loved Sesshomaru it scared him, because he thought he'd only ever love Hishime. The lord came into his life unexpectedly and his youki wanted him. His human heart ached however but his other half wanted Sesshomaru, it didn't even stir with Hishime so close and it shocked and scared him to tears. To think that the woman who shaped who he is today was forgotten by his youki hurt, but he'd accept it. She had taught him to never push one side of himself away in favor of the other because it would hurt him in the end, and that's what he'd been doing…pushing his youki away in favor of his human half.

Sesshomaru's eyes opened slowly, meeting Inuyasha's teary matching gold. "Morning…" His said softly to the lord who sat up.

"Good morning…" The lord hesitated which was strange, "Are you well?"

Inuyasha smiled wiping away the stray tears, "Better now that Naraku's gone…"

"I will leave you all here today to oversee repairs. Keep safe, I will return soon enough little brother." Sesshomaru left quicker than Inuyasha wanted him too. He didn't want the lord to leave, he needed to talk to him, but something was strange with the way the lord had behaved, it was so strangely obvious.

Sesshomaru landed at the castle, the repairs were almost complete as the staff had decided to use magic for the worst of it.

Inuyasha believed he'd see the lord a bit later I the day but he was wrong. For a week it felt like the lord was avoiding him, when he finally answered the phone Inuyasha told him that they needed to talk which was met by silence and then a cold 'fine'. Inuyasha was dreading having this conversation because again, it felt like he was betraying Hishime but not only had half of him moved on, he'd received her blessing and even she knew it was time. He sighed watching the pups play. He wanted to let the lord know his decision, he was ready to be with the lord and all it took was his former mate pulling him out of the bubble he'd built around himself. He knew for a fact that he would always love Hishime, and she would always be in his heart, but the lord had long since wormed his way in.

Inuyasha and the children were cleared to move back into the castle, but they still had not see the lord which was worrying, especially with Sairiu. The pup cried a lot and he knew she needed Sesshomaru as well because of how upset she was. He visited Nagisa and Mizuki in the caslte hospital wing, luckily Mizuki could walk away unscathed after taking a blow from Naraku, aimed at Nagisa and the pups. Nagisa brought him into a tearful, apologetic hug about them being unable to defend against Naraku. It took a long time but the hanyou was finally able to convince the youki that he didn't blame them in the slightest. He was just glad to see them all doing well.

The next person they met was Lady Shayou. She flew down from her castle when she heard that they'd returned to the castle. She was quick to hug the pups close and glare at him. Inuyasha was taken aback by this as it'd been quite a while since she was hostile towards him. "You should be executed." She stated coldly.

"What the hell are you talking about old lady!" Inuyasha growled.

"You betrayed my son. You betrayed the West! There is no room here for those with weak minds!" She bellowed angrily. "To allow that monster to use you against him as he did, you should have taken your own life!"

Inuyasha growled, "Piss off old bat! You don't know shit!" He didn't need her on his case as well, he was already beating himself up over the whole situation.

Kiki wiggled away from the woman and ran to his side before Sairiu did the same. "Not nice words." She growled.

"The pups are better off without you hanyou!"

"Enough." Was Sesshomaru's deep, annoyed voice. "You know nothing of what you speak, and you've made the children uncomfortable. Leave." The older demoness looked reluctant but turned her nose up as she glided away.

""Father!"" Were the girls happy squeals as they latched onto him excitedly. He greeted them kindly and they spent some time in the playroom before laying the two down for a nap.

When Inuyasha was finally alone with the lord he thought he'd lost his mind. The lord looked anxious and unsure of himself. "Sesshomaru? Are you okay?"

There was a reason Sesshomaru had left Inuyasha alone. It was to give himself time to prepare. He needed to prepare himself for when Inuyasha confirmed that he'd rather be brothers than lovers. His heart ached, and his hands actually trembled with anxiety. He'd never been this out of control of himself. "Inuyasha…I…" The lord stopped his thought and his eyes met his feet.

"Sesshomaru what's wrong?" Inuyasha was extremely worried, the behavior did not suit the lord in the slightest.

Sesshomaru looked up again, "I understand that things have changed between us and I'm sorry for my behavior from before…I didn't mean to frighten you away, but now…with the events of last week…I know you don't want…me…" At least, in the way the lord wanted him to.

Inuyasha's eyes widened when he realized what the lord was getting at. He looked so dejected it was almost funny to the hanyou. His clawed hand caressed the lords face, an action that would cause any other to lose their hand and their lives. "Sess." Inuyasha whispered before leaning in and kissing the shocked lord. "You're an idiot."

"I thought you wanted…her."

Inuyasha looked down, "A part of me does…but a bigger part has wanted you for so long…but I kept pushing you away…" He looked back up and kissed the lord again, who embraced him and extended the kiss. "I'm sorry."

"As am I." Sesshomaru responded.

"Were you avoiding me on purpose then? Because you were scared of what I would say after seeing Hishime?" Inuyasha asked curiously. The lord stiffened in the hanyou's arms causing Inuyasha to chuckle, "I'm happy to know your feelings are genuine Sess." The lord relaxed and simply held him close, taking in his scent and soothing his nerves. He'd never come across anything or anyone that made him lose control of his emotions to the point where he wasn't himself. Running and hiding like a coward, he was ashamed but Inuyasha merely laughed it off, dismissing something that would have gotten him punished as a child.

They stood comfortably for a while, kissing and holding each other closely. Inuyasha licked his chin submissively before grinning mischievously up at the lord who looked down with interest. "I think it's time for us to move on." Inuyasha chuckled, completely entertained with the idea of what he was about to do. Sesshomaru was none the wiser but didn't protest when Inuyasha stepped away from his embrace. The lord felt the air in the room change and looked to see Inuyasha's eyes a burning red with markings on his face. "Come on Sess…don't you wanna play a little game?" The demonic Inuyasha taunted. Sesshomaru's eyes were wide and his youki pulsed as it rapidly took over.


	13. Chapter 13

This mating chase was different. Mating chases between two beings where one was reluctant often ended bloody, with an unhappy mated pair, or a dead youki. It's how the first mating chase between Inuyasha and Sesshomaru could've ended, while it was bloody, no one died.

This time, Inuyasha wanted to be caught and, happily, Sesshomaru was right on his tail. Before Inuyasha knew it Sesshomaru grabbed him, swinging him and then pinning him to the ground. "You're mine." Sesshomaru rumbled.

"Yours." Inuyasha whined before baring his throat to the overwhelming youki of the lord. Fangs found his throat as Sesshomaru's youkai demanded his complete submission. When he finally went limp the lord rose, looking down at him. Inuyasha took this chance to look around at their surroundings, they were deep in the forest, looking back at the lord his breath caught. The lord's eyes were so serious, Inuyasha had never been face to face with the lord's youkai like this. It was terrifying but so very exciting. The first thing to go was his shirt, shredded to bits as the lord attacked his chest. His clawed hands moved roughly down to his hips as he nipped and sucked his neck and chest. The youki's tongue enveloped exposed nipples that he worried between his teeth causing Inuyasha to gasp in excitement. "…Sess…" The lord continued down his chest leaving hickies in his wake, as he made his way lower teasing the hanyou all the way down. When he made it to the engineers pants he looked up with red jeweled eyes at his blushing face.

Sesshomaru removed his pants and boxers before quickly discarding them, leaving the hanyou completely exposed. The lord continued his conquest of his intended's body. "Hah…ah.." Inuyasha moaned as Sesshomaru made his way closer to his hard cock. "Sess please…I just…ahhahh…" The lord seemed to be ignoring his pleas as he dipped past his cock and sucked his testicles below. It made his body twitch in uncertainty, unsure of what to do to get the lord to stop teasing him. "Sesshomaru come on!" He demanded in frustration. Sesshomaru looked up before nipping harshly at his inner thigh, causing him to flinch and yelp in pain. Inuyasha found his throat threatened with the lord fangs once more and Sesshomaru's youki became an overwhelming presence once more. Inuyasha was affected greatly but he was human enough to be able to put this situation into words, Sesshomaru was reminding him of who held the power here. That he was the alpha here and there was no room for argument. That he would decide when and how to pleasure the hanyou. He was in complete control. Inuyasha relented and barred more of his neck to show his submission.

Sesshomaru spread his legs wide, while Inuyasha was embarrassed he was unable to say anything. Instead he looked away until he felt the languid lick that went from the base of his cock to the very tip causing him to shudder and moan loudly. His warm tongue swirled around the tip making the hanyou twitch and try to move away from the intensity of it. Sesshomaru's steel grip on him prevented much movement as his hot mount enveloped his manhood to the base. He sucked quickly, and roughly and Inuyasha could only gasp and moan. As he sucked Sesshomaru teased his body, pulling Inuyasha closer and closer to his finish. "Sess…sho…m'gonna…cum…" Inuyasha said between moans, but Sesshomaru showed no signs of stopping. Inuyasha felt the tightness of his body release as he came into the lord's swallowing mouth, it felt incredible as the lord continued sucking throughout his orgasm. Inuyasha was overly sensitive when he came from his orgasmic high, Sesshomaru's sucking hurt and he whined loudly begging the alpha to stop. The youki pulled away, watching as his intended breathed heavily, sated and comfortable.

The lord removed his own clothing before once again spreading the hanyou's legs. Inuyasha looked at the youki nervously. Sesshomaru brought his hand to Inuyasha's entrance. He could feel that he was naturally lubricating which usually only happens when a beta male is in heat but also when they've accepted an alpha completely. The alpha in Sesshomaru was pleased. He entered the hanyou with two fingers, causing him to gasp a bit at the intrusion. He rubbed and stretched him until his cock was standing at attention once more. A finger brushed his prostate making his back arch as he moaned wantonly. However, the lord didn't continue stroking, he removed his hand and positioned his cock.

He captured Inuyasha's lips as he pushed in to the hilt. The hanyou hadn't been expecting it and it hurt more than a bit, he groaned and gripped at the lord tightly. "Ahhhaaa…ahh…" Inuyasha breathed heavily. Sesshomaru's lidded ruby and azure eyes looked down at his soon to be mate, splayed out beneath him. It was driving him mad with want. Pulling from him slowly, his hips snapped forward. The lord set a brutal pace. Inuyasha could feel the youkai deep within him and when his cock rubbed against his prostate it sent electricity shooting up his spine. As the lord continued thrusting into him he wanted to touch his cock but found his hands slapped away and received a reprimanding nip. "…but Sess…hah..ah…" Sesshomaru pinned his hands above his head and increased his speed. Inuyasha could feel his orgasm building. The lords thrusting sped up even more making Inuyasha cry out in pleasure as he was pushed over the edge. There was a sharp pain and the intensity of his orgasm increased tenfold as he was marked. He felt his own fangs elongate as he was urged instinctually to mark his mate in turn.

Sesshomaru shuddered as he released into his mate, but when he was marked he began to thrust uncontrollably until the knot at the base of his cock stopped him completely. He kissed the hanyou once more, tongue enveloping his deeply. Inuyasha was his and would be until existence ended. He continued kissing and nipping Inuyasha's mouth, making sure he knew how much he loved him as he waited for the knot to deflate, keeping it together as countless orgasms ripped through him. "Sess." Sesshomaru met the hanyou's eyes. "I love you."

The lord smiled openly, "And I you."

Inuyasha felt full, he'd never had someone knot him, mainly because he'd rarely ever slept with other canine species. It hurt and he felt bad now knowing he'd done it to others. He felt Sesshomaru's knot begin to loosen and his hot cum beginning to drop from his body, "Mate…" he whined in embarrassment. However, he then found himself on all fours as Sesshomaru took him roughly. The lord didn't expect hearing Inuyasha call him mate would have such an effect, but he only wanted to ravish him repeatedly, he wanted to hear Inuyasha scream for him.

"Again, say it again." He demanded, not going easy on the hanyou at all.

"M-mate…please…" He begged, which only got the lord going more. He was unable to handle being called mate by the one his youkai had desired for so long.

If there was any word that could describe how Inuyasha was feeling currently, it was pissed. He hated large ceremonies that required him to be fussed over, but no he had to go and mate the lord of the western lands of all people. Extravagant couldn't even begin to touch what was going on. He was in his own rooms within the castle and servants under direction of Kagome ran to and from getting him ready for the ceremony. Inuyasha didn't understand the purpose considering he and the lord had already mated and bore each other's marks. It was strange feeling the lord's emotions, but he endured the fussing because of how delighted the lord felt.

Kagome braided ornate jewelry throughout his long hair, the crest of the west was embroidered into his clothing as well. He'd never felt so dolled up before. She added touches of make up with a gold highlight to really show off his golden eyes. Inuyasha could no longer recognize himself in the mirror. Kagome started crying when she was done, "You're so beautiful Inuyasha…" There was a small knock at the door.

"Come in." He stated trying to keep his cool.

"Daddy?" Was his puppy's tiny voice. "Whoa…" Kiki's eyes widened in amazement as she looked up at her dad.

"What do you think puppy?" Inuyasha asked, amused with her astonished face.

What he hadn't expected was for her to tear up the way she did, "I wanna be pretty like daddy!" 'Gome make Kiki pretty too!" She whined unhappily. Inuyasha could only laugh. Was he really beautiful?

Elsewhere in the castle stood the demon lord of the west, who had finally taken a mate. He was looking at himself in a full-length mirror with an anxiety about his appearance that he'd never experienced before. He wanted everything to be perfect for Inuyasha. Kiki and Sairiu had been here a moment ago but when he looked over the younger was gone and his daughter was watching him fuss in the mirror. He stopped worrying about it and picked her up, "Is father ready now?" She asked.

"I am unsure." Sesshomaru responded. Sairiu tilted her head in confusion and the lord bit back a sigh. He shouldn't be nervous when he and Inuyasha had already become mates. He would prefer not to go through with the formality of the ceremony but as lord, he couldn't. It wasn't every millennium a demon lord took a mate; the entire country was celebrating. If anything, he was very happy. "Shall we get going?" She nodded with a smile.

Sesshomaru stood in front of a set of doors as he and his daughter were announced. He walked in slowly and steadily. He could see eyes of admiration, anger, and envy as he made his way to the elders. "My my, Lord Sesshomaru, I never thought I'd see the day when you took a mate." He chuckled softly.

"He is one worth waiting for." Sesshomaru stated simply.

Sesshomaru looked around, the hall was enormous but there on the floor nearest him were the people most important. Their daughters would be standing next to them, and in the seating Sesshomaru's closest allies and advisers sat. On the other side sat familiar faces as well. All of Inuyasha's friends were seated together giddy with excitement and anticipation. They saw him looking and waved enthusiastically. Even Nagisa and Mizuko sat together, Nagisa's stomach beginning to show his pregnancy.

The announcer at the door announced Kiki, she skipped her way to the alter where he and Sairiu stood. Sesshomaru noted that despite her skipping she didn't look too happy. He crouched to her level, "What is the matter child?"

She pouted and looked up at him with large teary eyes, "I wanted to be pretty like daddy!" She whined and stamped her foot. Sesshomaru could only smile, she was as lively as ever.

He stood once more as music began to play when they announced Inuyasha. When the doors opened many gasps were heard around the room and Sesshomaru felt his mates' nervousness, but he couldn't take his eyes off his mate as he approached. "You look great Inu!" Was shouted by one of his friends before they were all loud and rambunctious. The lord felt Inuyasha's nervousness ease away with the behavior of his friend's, so he let them continue. All of the touches added to Inuyasha's features made him stand out. Sesshomaru had never seen such a beautiful creature before and his heart swelled with pride knowing he was his.

Inuyasha bit his lip as he approached the lord. He stood strong and as intimidating as ever. Inuyasha felt more at ease looking at him, his youkai purred as he neared the alter. When he finally reached the alter he felt Sesshomaru's clawed hand at his waist. "You look remarkable Inuyasha." Sesshomaru's eyes roamed his body slowly. "Truly, one of a kind." Inuyasha felt his face burn as the lord pecked his forehead.

Inuyasha's face was red with embarrassment but he smiled none the less. If there was anything he could say about this moment, standing with his family, is that he was happy. The ceremony was over soon as Sesshomaru claimed a kiss, signifying the end. "There is a banquet for all to enjoy." Sesshomaru led his family to the banquet hall and sat with Inuyasha as they accepted gifts from nobles, many of which neither had any interest in.

When Inuyasha's friends were up, Kouga smiled happily as he and Inuyasha hugged each other tightly, "Thank you for always being there for me man." Inuyasha said tearing up a bit.

"Hey, don't get all sappy on me dude, I'm really proud of you." Kouga released him before he got his head torn off by the jealous alpha inu behind them. "See what happens when you take my advice? Lifetimes of happiness, right? Man should be selling this knowledge." Kouga boasted.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and patted the wolf on the back. "I guess you were right for once." Kouga had always been as close to him as Hishime, they all basically grew up together in a way. The wolf was a bit shocked at not being reprimanded by his friend but smiled happily.

"Well my lord, I hope you'll continue to take my advice." Kouga joked.

"Ugh please, don't do the title thing, s'uncomfortable." Inuyasha groaned.

"Yaya!" Lady Kyoge squealed in excitement.

"Baabaa…" Inuyasha smiled.

"Congratulations pup. I pray the gods watch over you happily on this new adventure." She smiled. "Now go make me some more grand pups, I'm not getting any younger!" This caused Inuyasha to blush a new shade of red. "Kiki, you're going to have lots of beautiful brothers and sisters that look just like your father and daddy! Won't that be nice?" Kiki wasn't her usual bout of smiles and cheer and she only frowned a bit before looking at her father and dad.

"Lady Kyoge, please do not make my mate uncomfortable." Sesshomaru stated, pausing his conversation with a noble.

"As you wish mi'lord." She grinned mischievously.

The next person to hug Inuyasha was Kagome, who hadn't stopped crying the entire time. "I'm just so happy! I know it isn't a wedding, but I always cry seeing my friends so happy!" Inuyasha let her cry on him for a bit before Ayame took her to help her clean up. He was happy that so many of his friends had come to support him, it really opened his eyes to the loyal friends that he'd made over the years. He looked around as he stood with his mate and greeted dignitaries and allies. He was looking for their daughters. He eventually spotted Sairiu with Rin, tasting various sweets but he didn't see his own daughter. He felt her in the room however her youkai was very melancholic.

Sesshomaru squeezed his hand in response to his worrying. "I can't find Kiki."

The lord scanned the room, not seeing the child either. "Perhaps she is hiding under one of the tables and sneaking treats again."

"Yeah but something isn't right with her Sess." Inuyasha said quietly. He excused himself and started checking under tables for the puppy. He wasn't searching for long because a high-pitched cry soon rang throughout the area. He looked up quickly to see Kiki standing next to the table she'd been sitting under and crying her heart out. Her youkai was completely distressed as she wailed loudly.

"Daddy!" Large tears rolled down her face. Inuyasha rushed to her before the servants could.

"Puppy what's wrong!?" Her level of anxiety was freaking him out as he searched for any signs of danger or injuries on her. Inuyasha's emotions set the lord on high alert as well, all of the guests watched with interest. She refused to say anything as she cried.

"Inuyasha what's the matter here?" Lady Kyoge came over quickly, never knowing the pup to cry as she was.

"Kookie I can't help if you don't tell me what's wrong." Inuyasha frowned and wiped her tears as he held her closely. She still wasn't talking and merely cried louder. The hanyou sighed and rubbed her back reassuringly. Sesshomaru was with them a moment later. "I think I'm gonna put her to bed."

"Allow a servant to do so, we still need to be here for a while longer." Sesshomaru stated with a slight frown, wondering what had come over their pup. Inuyasha sighed and set his daughter on her feet to be led away by the servants but his instincts as a parent were having a hard time with her crying as she was.

"No…daddy!" She cried as she stomped her feet in frustration and pulled at his clothing. "Daddy~!"

"Puppy that is enough!" Inuyasha said sternly. "Go to your room with the servant, now." He in truth didn't want to send her away, he really wanted to sit with her and talk about what was bothering her enough to change her behavior, but he also wanted her to know that he wouldn't let this type of behavior stand. She wouldn't talk to him and there wasn't anything he could do about that except give her time to calm down.

"Come on pup, let's go." The servant said calmly.

"No…I want daddy…" She wailed when the servant tried to pick her up. Her crying became more hysterical as she was carried further and further away. "Daddy no~!" She cried before she began coughing and eventually ended up vomiting on the servant who remained straight faced. Inuyasha started to follow them because of the simple fact that his daughter had never cried so much, and he was worried, but he was stopped by Sesshomaru's hand at his waist, "She'll be fine for a little bit, we'll leave as early as allowed. Sairiu quickly followed them out, she too wondering what was wrong with Kiki.

When the three disappeared, Inuyasha sighed unhappily. "Do not fret mate, she has been through a lot and it has probably just caught up with her." Sesshomaru reassured him, placing a kiss at his temple. Inuyasha knew in his heart that that wasn't the case however, Kiki was very different from the average little youki girl. She was like him in that her emotions were usually on display and easily read. Inuyasha was wondering what could have possibly happened in such a short span of time as she was fine when in the dressing room with he and Kagome. Kiki was usually very vocal about her feelings and he always encouraged her to be open with him. He wanted to go lie with her in bed and talk to her. He sighed, hoping Sairiu would be able to cheer the pup up, even if it was only a bit.

After a bit of continued greeting and he and Sesshomaru turning down mating offers for their daughters, Inuyasha was mentally exhausted. There was an obvious game going on with the various visiting lords and lady's. As he now held the title of lord of the west, they were trying to get on his good side as he and Sesshomaru's power were equal. If Inuyasha hadn't been blood related his power in the land would be significantly less such as how it was for Lady Shayou when she was the lady of the west. Any of her decisions had to be approved by the lord of the land.

Inuyasha was becoming increasingly annoyed with them, he felt Sesshomaru's clawed hand in his own. Which helped him calm down a bit. Inuyasha put a fake smile on his face and weaseled out of the conversation. He was eventually able to escape and join his friends who kept the nobles away with their rambunctious actions. Inuyasha was holding one of Kouga's cubs happily, she was so tiny, and reminded him of when Kiki was this age. Nagisa and Mizuko came over, "So any pups in the future?" Nagisa grinned and winked.

Inuyasha considered it, looking at the cub in his arms he remembered what he told Sesshomaru in regard to pups. He still felt the same. He wanted to see and feel the lord's excitement when he told him. Inuyasha nodded and smiled. "I want to have a few more. How'sit being pregnant?" He asked looked at Nagisa's rounded abdomen.

"Great! There's only 4 pups but we can have more later!" He said cheerfully.

Inuyasha smirked and looked at Mizuko, "Good luck." He laughed then winked. Inuyasha hoped he wouldn't be having that many at once, it seemed a bit much, and he was sure by the end Nagisa was going to be cranky and sore from their weight. He'd always been curious about what it was like to be pregnant. Well, he'd know soon enough especially if he was already pregnant. Which he was secretly hoping. Eventually, his friends departed, and he joined Sesshomaru and his allies. He leaned on his mate who wrapped an arm around him comfortably.

Later in the night, they were finally able to leave. It was well past the pup's bedtime when the two inu made their way to Kiki's rooms. They were surprised to see Sairiu sitting on the floor, leaning against the doors quietly next to the guards. "Pup." Sesshomaru called.

She stood quickly and rushed over, "Kiki's still crying." The two could hear her in her room and Inuyasha rushed in, it was too out of character for her.

She was sitting in her bed in her night clothes hugging Monshi tightly. The beast pup whined and licked her face. "Kookie." Inuyasha lifted her into his lap. "It's okay, everything's gonna be okay." He let his youki sooth her. Kiki had finally stopped crying, her eyes and face were a puffy red. "Now tell me, what's been going on puppy."

"Kiki doesn't want daddy to forget…" She frowned and teared up again.

"Forget what honey?" He asked in confusion.

"Kiki." She whispered as her tears fell and her voice cracked. Inuyasha's eyes widened.

Why would she think he would forget about her?


	14. Chapter 14

Sesshomaru was worried about the pup but he couldn't understand what was being said, and it wasn't as if he could bring a translator into this private affair. He held his daughter in his arms and sat next to Inuyasha so that he was able to pet the younger girls head. He was shocked when the small child growled and snapped at hm with her teeth. "Kiki!" Inuyasha said, shocked by her behavior. It was too unusual. Inuyasha felt his heart aching as he held his daughter close. "Kookie what happened? Why would you ever think daddy would forget you? I love you so much. What's going on with you puppy?"

Inuyasha was becoming very frustrated with his daughter, she wouldn't speak to him and her aggressive behavior against Sesshomaru was increasing that frustration. "Sess, I don't know what's wrong with her but…give me a minute…I'll be back in a few hours."

"Where are you going?" Sesshomaru said through clenched teeth, the last thing his youkai would allow was their new mate far from their side.

"On a walk, her senses are probably getting overwhelmed with everything happening." It was the only thing Inuyasha could account for her strange behavior.

"Be back within an hour or I will come for you." Sesshomaru stated as compromise. Inuyasha sighed but nodded.

With Kiki in his arms he made for the door, as he left Sesshomaru could see the same despondent look on the child's face he'd seen months ago. Looking at his own daughter, "Has anyone said anything nasty to Kiki recently?" He asked in her mother tongue to make sure everything was understood, though she was now advanced at his own language. Sairiu frowned and nodded. It looked like the lord would be having a talk with his own daughter.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

He hummed lightly as he carried his daughter through the halls, it was a calm familiar song her mother would hum while she was pregnant. He made his way into one of the private family gardens and found a spot in a thick, ancient tree. Settling down with his daughter in his lap, he searched her face for any kind of answer. He reached out to her youkai, bringing a bit more of it out. The reaction was immediate, she began to whine as if injured and tried to bury herself into his chest for protection.

"It's okay puppy, you're safe, you're safe." He soothed as he continued to draw more out, bit by bit. Soon he was holding a wriggling whining pup-like child who felt as though she couldn't get closer to him. It answered one of his questions. Was she just acting out? If that was the case then her youkai would want to play, cuddle, or sleep considering the time. The pain she was feeling was very deep, right down to the core of her being and it hurt him. How long had she been carrying such a pain for her beast to cry to him for help as it was. He slowly forced her youkai back within her and brought his daughter level with his face. "Kiki, you're a very strong puppy, but you're still a puppy. Daddy's here to make things better, but he can't make it better if you don't talk to him." This caused her to frown and her eyes watered heavily. "Daddy won't be mad at you Kiki, he loves you so much and he just wants to make it better." Her tears were falling now. "Did daddy do something to make you upset? To make you sad or angry?" She shook her head as she sniffled and as tears rolled down her face. Inuyasha let his youki pulse out in slow soothing waves, surrounding his daughter in an aura of safety and love. All youkai descendants were able to use their youki in this way, especially for blood relatives. He thought back to what she'd said in her bedroom. "Daddy would never forget his most precious puppy. No matter how many puppies I have, I'll always love Kiki."

Inuyasha was a bit surprised when his daughter started to wail then. Not the tantrum type, not the boredom type, it sounded like relief, as if a ton of bricks had been lifted from her shoulders. Inuyasha pet her ears and hugged her tightly, never once loosening his grip. He didn't want to push her, he felt like if he continued to question her she would clam up and withdraw. It'd happened before when she'd broken something very important and could only cry about it, unable to explain that she merely opened the door a little to roughly and sent the fragile item tumbling to the floor when the door hit the wall. He pat her back making sure her heart and breathing didn't become hysterical. He could tell that his time was almost up as he sat in the tree with his daughter, he prepared to jump down and rejoin his mate, hoping to get something out of her at a later date.

"Why does everyone hate Kiki?" She whispered in a barely audible voice. It shocked and scared Inuyasha, the question.

"Why do you think everyone hates you Kookie." Inuyasha was hesitant to respond, if he said something wrong, he risked damaging his child mentally. He used her nickname and a calm voice to show that he was not upset and to encourage her to continue with something familiar.

"The servants and guards hate Kiki…and people from town…and at school…and Nana…and everyone…"

She sounded so despondent that Inuyasha had to look at her face. It was an expression he'd never seen before, she looked so lifeless, so hopeless and it hurt. The look was the same that he'd worn most of his childhood, he knew was it felt like and he'd thought…that her inuyouki status would save her from that cruelty but he was obviously wrong. "Puppy…" He didn't realize how much his daughter was hurting and the fact that she felt the need to hide that from him hurt even more, but when he thought about it, he too hid much from his mother when she was still apart of the living, because he didn't want her to hurt as well. He understood his daughter more that she would ever know.

"It's because Kiki looks different…because Kiki is ugly…" She said quietly, trying to cuddle into his arms further. Inuyasha felt a shock to his system, felt his heart ache for his daughter…and his stomach tighten as he took in the words he used to describe herself.

"Honey…tell daddy why you think Kiki is ugly?" He said gently…he needed to know…

It took a moment but when she spoke it was even quieter than before, "Because everyone says so…people don't think Kiki hears but she does…" His daughter sniffled, "They never say anything bad about Saisai, so why Kiki? What did Kiki do?" Inuyasha wanted to cry, but he could not, he was the parent and he had to be the strong rock for his daughter to lean upon. "Even Nana thinks Kiki is ugly. She doesn't want Kiki as a granddaughter anymore she wants different ones..." Kiki hiccupped and cried into his chest, "Kiki is different. She doesn't have the pretty markings…she doesn't have youki ears…father will throw Kiki away because Kiki is not his daughter..." Inuyasha was so angry and sad, he wanted to kill any and everyone who has made his daughter feel this way. "Kiki doesn't wanna get throwed away…" Her crying began to impede on her speech as it began to regress into a babylike form, "Kiki wan stay with daddy…'ven if she uhgee…"

Inuyasha took a deep calming breath and continued to let his youki sooth her. It wouldn't be good if any of his anger slipped out at any moment. To think people have hurt his child like this made his blood boil. He could take it, the animosity, the hatred, their anger, but he refused to allow it to be directed at his small child. It was not right, her grandmother would also be getting an earful, he'd warned the woman that her words could be taken wrong and yet she continued. He took another breath. "Kiki, my little puppy, you are not ugly." He words fell upon deaf ears when he realized that she had fallen asleep. Of course, she would be exhausted.

His time had been up for a while and he wondered why his mate had not come as he said he would. Cradling his exhausted pup, he made his way back to Kiki's room but his mate and niece were nowhere to be seen. He decided that Kiki would be sleeping with them anyway so he went to his bedchambers which were empty as well. Tucking his daughter in to the gigantic bed he went back into the hall. It was odd, he could see no guards in place and it worried him. He made his way to the main hall but the amount of noise coming from the throne room intrigued him. Upon entering, he could see all the guests from their ceremony, almost all of the palace servants and a great number of the guards. They were being separated and sorted it seemed. Sairiu was being held and she was pointing at people who then either broke down in tears or pleaded with the lord for mercy. His friends were there as well, children tired and crying. Kagome, Miroku, Sango were curled into his friend's little protective bubble with the children as they were some of the only humans. Inuyasha was confused, he needed to know what was going on. "All of you seem to take the child protection laws lightly, be lucky that there are so many of you, killing you all at once would cause problems." Was Sesshomaru's loud angry voice. "To think that those in my own house and service would speak so heinously towards a child that shares my very lifeblood. You are all bold indeed." Sesshomaru's actions and words were scary to say the least…but his commanding attitude and dominance spoke to his youkai which was very pleased.

Sairiu continued to point them out. Inuyasha could only assume these were to people she had heard speaking badly about Kiki. She pointed at a far away noble. "My lord she must be lying, telling a child's tale I tell you! I would never say anything about the young princess!"

"Oh really, and who do you truly think I believe, a slimy noble you or my beloved daughter. What were his words Sairiu."

"He said, 'I wonder how long before Lord Sesshomaru kills off the hanyou's bastard, useless that one.'" Sairiu said in monotone from the safety of her father's arms. The nobles eyes widened as all of the blood drained from his face.

"You would dare suggest that this Sesshomaru would kill a child, a child of my bloodline, a child of my treasured mate!" Sesshomaru growled furiously. "My adored daughter." The crowd gasped as many had thought the lord simply disregarded the child of his mate. They were shocked to learned that he had fully accepted her. "Shackle him!" Sesshomaru ordered. "To think I would have to deal with this on what should be a happy and relaxing day for my family. Inexcusable." Inuyasha approached his mate, wary of his fury, but excited by his dominance. Sesshomaru wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Mate…what's going on…?" He hoped using the name would help calm the lord, but he was no so lucky.

"I will not have our children being hurt by those under them, beneath them." Sesshomaru growled.

"This seems a bit…much." Inuyasha said lowly.

"Their hate and animosity could lead to a rebellion and I will not have them hurt again Mate, I refuse to allow any misfortune to grace them again while in our home." Sesshomaru said firmly. "Friends of Inuyasha, you are free to go, this does not concern you as I am sure you would sooner die than hurt our daughter."

"Damn straight." Inuyasha heard from Kouga. The wolf didn't really understand what was happening at first but he was glad Sesshomaru was taking action. He was Kiki's godfather and the last thing anyone would do was hurt her while he was around. He, like Inuyasha, had beaten many a youki and human who could not keep their words to themselves. He and his mate gathered their children with their friends and headed out quickly, before head began rolling.

Sairiu continued pointing out the guilty and telling her father what had been done or said, even including whether or not Kiki spoke to her about it afterwards. Soon there was a large crowd on one side of the room in shackles, crying and pleading with their lord for mercy. There were none of the inu species as they were too scarce a race to reject a pup for any reason, but it did not stop other races. Inuyasha could see the faces of the familiar inu guards as they glared at their comrades without sympathy. Nagisa and Mizuko stood with the crowd watching. Inuyasha could see Hiroki standing with the other working nonguilty guards, holding his weapon at the ready.

"Mate, please take Sairiu and put her to bed, I do not wish for her to see this." Sesshomaru said quietly. Inuyasha cradled the girl and left quickly. While he knew his mate wasn't an unjust man, some of the punishments for breaking the laws were very cruel. It kept crime very low but citizens very anxious. While out of earshot for the puppy in his arms, Inuyasha could hear Sesshomaru's voice loud and clear. "Cut off their right hands. Cut out their tongues. Take the males to be castrated. Take the women to be sterilized. Be happy I'm leaving you with your lives." Was his cold voice before the screaming started.

Fear welled up in Inuyasha's body and he knew his mate felt it. Sairiu looked up at him curiously as they walked to the family wing. He stopped at Sairiu's room to change her clothes then continued on to his and Sesshomaru's chambers. He sighed, he was not afraid of his mate, just the situation. It was very overwhelming and if he was honest he simply wanted to curl around his mate and children and sleep the worries away. He planned to talk to his daughter in the morning.

Just as Sairiu nodded off, the door opened to reveal a blood splattered Sesshomaru. Inuyasha's eyes widened a fraction. "Are you okay Sess?"

"I am fine. How is she?" Sesshomaru asked, looking at the sleeping little girls in their bed.

"She's okay…well as much as she can be after what she'd told me." Inuyasha pulled Sesshomaru to the large bathroom and pressed the button that would fill the large tub. He and Sesshomaru undressed before bathing together. Inuyasha relayed the conversation that he'd had with his daughter and felt the spike of hurt in Sesshomaru's chest when told that Kiki believed he would want to get rid of her. Sesshomaru began telling him about what led to the mass punishment of staff and nobles. He'd asked Sairiu a simple question and the girl all but exploded. She cried and screamed asking him why people would say mean things about Kiki. Her memory was vivid and she remembered every face, every voice, and every word said against the pup. Which is what lead to him storming angrily from the room and summoning everyone. While everyone had not been able to make it as he ordered many of them back to the castle, only the throne room was able to hold them all. He would be making his way to the barracks tomorrow to finish what he'd begun. His fathers' laws were not to be taken lightly.

"I wanted to kill them all when she said it Sess. My puppy, one of the sweetest children on this planet, thinks she's ugly because of what they've been saying. Thinks I don't love her." Sesshomaru could feel his mates' anger as he began nipping at his neck. "I just…ughh…she's been through enough shit already."

Sesshomaru nuzzled into the crook of his mates' neck, "I know Inuyasha. We will finish dealing with it in the morning. Let us relax and rest beforehand." He rubbed his back, massaging the stress of the day away. The lord was in deep thought as he worked. He wanted to speak to Kiki and let her know how much he loved her. He thought he'd made it clear before but apparently not. The poor pup had been shouldering so much, he hoped to be someone she could confide in. When they finished bathing they joined their children in bed once more, curling around them protectively.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

A small head of messy white hair and puppy dog ears popped up out. The small pup rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she looked around. She crawled closer to her dad and hugged his head, "Daddy?"

"Uh?" Inuyasha replied, opening his blurry eyes to look at his small puppy.

"Kiki's hungry." She answered softly, noting her cousin now sister and her uncle turned father.

"Yeah? Should we wake everyone up and go get some breakfast?" Inuyasha asked, rubbing small puppy ears.

"No…" She whined a bit.

Inuyasha sat up and brought her into his lap, "Puppy, I wanna talk to you okay?" Kiki looked up at him with curious eyes. "You know, daddy thought about what you said yesterday." She seemed to tense at his words. "Kiki, daddy and father love you very much." He rubbed her back and smiled sadly, "I'm so sorry people have being saying such terrible things to you love but I want you to know something important. Unfortunately, there will always be someone who doesn't want to be your friend, but that's okay, there are so many people who do." Kiki rested her head on his chest and listened to his words. "Mizuko and Nagisa are guards and they think you're wonderful, and Nana didn't mean what she said, she loves you so much sweetheart." Inuyasha lifted her into his arms before standing and walking to the vanity. "Kiki do you think daddy is pretty?"

She smiled and nodded, "Daddy is very pretty!" She chimed with a smile.

"Well look sweetheart. Doesn't Kiki look like daddy?" It was as if she'd never notice how similar they looked. She looked between her own face and is several times. "That means Kiki is pretty too. Kiki looks different because Daddy looks different, but that's not a bad thing." Inuyasha heard shifting and look to see Sesshomaru standing and coming over. Sesshomaru pat her head but she only inched away a bit instead of snapping a him.

"Kiki looks just like her beautiful dad." Sesshomaru stated calmly, "Will my little pup come with me to get breakfast?" Sesshomaru reached out with his youkai, letting her know on an instinctual level that he had claimed her as his own. Eventually, he was able to take her from Inuyasha and scent mark her. Inuyasha woke Sairiu up and they walked through the empty feeling castle together. Half of the staff in the building had been dismissed, Sesshomaru would be bringing in and thoroughly training new staff.

The chef was still there but many of his staff gone so it took a bit longer to get the meal ready. He sat with Kiki on his lap, using his youkai to bond with her own as he should've done quite a while ago. Inuyasha was happy to see him making such an effort with her. By the end of the day, she seemed much more like her usual self but Sesshomaru wouldn't be falling for that. He decided he would make sure the child knew that she was cared for and that he was someone who would be there for her.


	15. Chapter 15

A few months passed and life at the castle had finally settled into its version of normalcy. Inuyasha, while preforming tasks necessary as the mate of the primary lord, continued to work on his business and focus on their children. He was currently following his youngest daughter's scent as he held the elder in his arms. Sesshomaru had started dedicating a lot more time to the girl and as a result they'd become very close, to the point where she'd begun emulating his behavior. He found them in the lesser throne room as Sesshomaru saw to hearings. Looking in from the door leading into the castle, he could see Kiki happily sitting on the lords lap as he listened to the people present their cases. From what he understood, it was a human suing a youki for damage of property. Sesshomaru looked completely bored, when Kiki then spoke up. "Even though it was an accident, it caused problems for someone else, so I think you should pay them back. That's the right thing to do. To fix your mistakes." She looked up at Sesshomaru who smiled and nodded in approval, causing the young girl to beam brightly.

Sesshomaru couldn't believe the issue made it all the way to him. The youki in question looked very upset. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, "My daughter is correct. You'll be paying for the damages and court expenses."

"But my lord! He's just some human!" The youki exclaimed.

Kiki's ears twitched, "And he is a person with a life just like you. It does not matter his species. He is someone with a lifestyle you interrupted."

Inuyasha's eyes widened at his daughter's response. He'd never thought he'd hear such a profound statement from her and assumed it was from spending so much time with Sesshomaru. "My daughter's will is just, and if you refuse you will be imprisoned. Dismissed." The youki continued to glare at the human who bowed and thanked the lord and princess profusely.

"Mate." Inuyasha spoke up as he approached, "I think you're rubbing off on her too much."

Sesshomaru smirked slightly and bounced Kiki in his lap, causing her to giggle before reaching out to Inuyasha to be held. "She would make an excellent judge. Impartial and incapable of being bribed and her morals are strong." Sesshomaru rubbed her ears gently with a smile, she'd be great in any public office. Kiki had grown taller and was now a bit taller than her cousin, which made Sairiu frown whenever it was brought up. Inuyasha could only smile at the grin his daughter sported from Sesshomaru's praise. The lord stood with her in his arms and pecked both his daughters before looking at his mate once more and kissing him deeply.

"Sesshomaru I have to talk to you." Inuyasha said as seriously as he could through the youki's attention. Sairiu nuzzled into him feeling his youki flicker with a bit anxiety. The four left the throne room, stopping to leave the girls in the playroom, Sesshomaru guided his hard won mate to their chambers.

In their chambers, Sesshomaru began to kiss his mate neck, giving his mating mark some much appreciated attention. He knew he would never and could never have enough of his mate. "Sess…" Inuyasha began before he was cut off by the lord capturing his lips. Inuyasha was pressed firmly into the bed as he was showered with attention from his greedy mate. It was hard to focus but with a surge of power to his noodle-like limbs he was able to flip them and straddle his surprised mate.

"Mate." Sesshomaru paused with the seriousness he saw in Inuyasha's eyes. He watched as it ebbed and became soft as the hanyou leaned in and kissed him softly. "What is the matter? Why are you so anxious?"

"Sesshomaru." The youki smiled fully at his mate. That smile became confused when the hanyou took a deep breath and sighed.

"Inuyasha?" He questioned before the hanyou leaned in and kissed him once more. It was a slow, sure kiss that caught Sesshomaru off guard with the tenderness of it, "Mate, I'm pregnant." Sesshomaru's eyes widened exponentially. He was staring at him smiling mate slack jawed and his heart began to race. Inuyasha could feel the lord's youkai coming to the forefront of his mind and soon Sesshomaru was on top of him, showering him in attention reserved exclusively for his lovely mate. Inuyasha's face was rosy as he gave control to Sesshomaru who began to aggressively strip him.

In the playroom, the pups were joined by various children belonging to the castle servants and guards. Kiki was particularly invested in the four crawling pups of Nagisa and Mizuko. There were three girls and one boy. The girls resembled Mizuko heavily, while the boy had Nagisa's soft smile and demeanor. Kiki was making sure none of the other children accidentally hurt the tiny pups. Sairiu had become more sociable and branched out, the daughters of the servants wanting to dress her up because they admired her, though she could still be quite shy at times. All of the kids were playing in different area's and enjoying themselves. A servant brought out a large tray of cookies, and before any of the other kids could grab them, Kiki took most of the tray and walked away. "Hey that's not fair!" One kid shouted.

Kiki looked at the boy before continuing in her task. The other kids swarmed the table for the cookies until none were left. The young girl passed out her bundle of cookies to the younger children who might not have gotten any otherwise. When all were passed out she put her hands on her hips with a satisfied smile. "Princess Kiki is so sweet to the younger children and babies." A servant whispered. Sairiu nudged Kiki with the extra cookie she'd grabbed, knowing her sibling would give them away until she didn't have anymore. The two sat together, enjoying their treat and watching the younger kids. They were still adjusting to the new number of children using their playroom. It'd been a bit hard but Inuyasha thought they needed more children to play with, and invited them even though Sesshomaru was against it. The children weren't present all the time which was the compromise they'd come up with.

Kiki didn't really like any of the kids aside from the babies and thought the older ones were too rough. She was having a hard time interacting with the other children which worried Inuyasha. "Princess Princess!" A few girls surrounded them and began talking with Sairiu about the new dolls in the playroom. "Come play!" They requested.

Sairiu frowned and looked at Kiki, "No thank you. I want to play with Kiki."

The girls looked a bit peeved except for one, "Does Princess Kiki want to play too?"

An older girl huffed, "I don't want to play with her."

"Why not?" Sairiu asked with a frown. Kiki glared at the girls.

"She's not really a princess! My mommy says so! She's just the daughter of a hanyou!" She announced.

Sairiu didn't like that word, "Kiki is a princess because daddy is a Lord too!" she growled.

"Nuh uh!" The girl pattered on.

Kiki grabbed her cousins hand seeing it was making her upset but Sairiu shouted, "You can't play here anymore. You're only here because my daddy wanted us to play with others. We don't want to play with you. Leave."

"You can't tell me what to do!" The naïve girl stamped her foot.

Kiki and Sairiu had already began to leave, but Sairiu turned to face her, "I will not repeat myself." Before they continued to the block area and tried to build the castle. The girls watched from afar, it was obvious some of their parents were trying to get them to be closer to the young girl who would one day rule the lands so their families could prosper. Soon growling could be heard along with giggling as the two princesses played as puppies do. "Sairiu will be a good queen."

Sairiu looked at her cousin and tilted her head. "Being queen sounds hard..."

"But everyone will listen to Saisai then." Kiki smiled as she began to clean up their blocks.

The older princess frowned a bit, "...but I don't want to be queen..." the quiet statement fell on deaf ears as Kiki tuned into the servants began cleaning and prepping for lunch.

When lunch was served, Sairiu was peeved to see the girls still there and stormed off. She marched through the halls on a mission with a guard following close behind. Kiki was a little confused by her departure but shrugged it off as she watched one of the servants give a toddler baby food. Sairiu scented her father in his office and tried to calm down but she couldn't help the fat tears that began to run down her cherub face. She sniffled and before she could knock the door was opened and she was in his arms. "What's the matter pup?"

"I don't want to play with them. I want them to go away!" Sairiu announced through her tears.

"Hmm, I understand, but your dad thinks you two need others to play with." Sesshomaru calmly explained. "They're not there all the time, isn't that okay?"

"No! I don't want to play with anyone who says mean things about Kiki or daddy." Sairiu said firmly. Sesshomaru nodded, seeing clearly how his daughter was feeling, and feeling happy that his daughter knew she could come to him.

"Mean things? What did they say?" Sesshomaru would not allow anyone to disrespect his family. His eyes widened at the insult he'd outlawed under the discrimination act revision. The punishment being lashings. Sitting at his desk with his daughter he wrote the order for the girls parents to be arrested and tried before sending it with a guard. "You don't have to worry about it anymore. I will take care of it." He gathered his daughter and went back to the playroom where the children were still having lunch.

"Hi father!" Kiki chirped happily as she came to greet him once more. Sesshomaru noted how picked over the young girls food was and thought it odd, considering she was a very good eater. "Come with father. Would you like to have lunch with daddy and I?"

"Yes!" She began jumping with excitement. Both he and Inuyasha hadn't had lunch with the girls in a very long time. He brought them to the east garden, where he and Inuyasha planned to share a meal. The two girls greeted him once more and they began their meal. He was happy to see both eating well. In the middle, Kiki began talking about the babies and toddlers and how cute they were, which Inuyasha could only smile about. He hadn't planned to tell the girls so soon but he wanted to see his daughter's reaction.

"Kiki, Sairiu." Bother girls looked up at him and he could only smile more. "Daddy's going to have a puppy."

Kiki's eyes became exponentially larger, "Really!?" He could see the sparkling in her eyes. He was happy to know that she wasn't upset about it like she might have been all those months ago. He wasn't surprised by his pregnancy, considering how 'active' he and Sesshomaru had been recently. "When!? When!?" Kiki whined as she bounced in her seat. Inuyasha looked to see that Sairiu had a large smile on her face as well as she listened closely.

"Well, inu puppies are born pretty quickly, especially if they're powerful. So, in about three months." The girls squealed in excitement.

"Is father happy too!?" Kiki practically shouted the question.

"Yes, I am very happy." Sesshomaru gave a smile. He too, was happy the girls were taking it so well. Sesshomaru looked to his mate as he continued speaking with the pups, his only thoughts were on how much he loved the man before him.

()()()()()()()()()()

A month went by like a wild fire and Sesshomaru could feel his heartbeat in his ears. He'd brought a doctor into the castle for Inuyasha's sole use. They were currently sitting in the medical ward of the castle, with Inuyasha lying on his back as he was given an ultrasound. They had put it off but today they would find out how many puppies they'd be having, as well as their genders. He felt his mate grab his hand, "Hey, calm down. You're so nervous." Inuyasha noted, being able to feel his mates emotions.

"Alright my lords. Here we have one pup." The doctor moved to the other side of Inuyasha's abdomen. "And here's another." Inuyasha smiled when he felt Sesshomaru's hand tighten. "Both are male." Inuyasha's smiled widened, he wondered what it'd be like to raise sons. Looking back at his mate as he felt his emotions swimming in his head he rubbed the back of his hand.

"Sesshomaru, we're going to have two more." Inuyasha yelped in surprise when Sesshomaru embraced him. The lord could now understand Kouga's behavior. He wanted to shout to the heavens about his unborn children, his family, and his love for them. He had truly, never been this happy in his life. Having children with his chosen mate, the one he loved.

"Ahem…my lords...there's a." Sesshomaru slowly released Inuyasha as he remembered the doctor was there. "Well, the best things may come in two, however, all good things come in threes." Inuyasha quirked an eyebrow. "You see, there's another pup here." The wand was moved to his lower abdomen to reveal yet another pup. Inuyasha bit his lip and Sesshomaru's emotions were once again swirling in his head. "This pup is female. I must say, that she is in a very delicate position. For their health, you should put off work and any strenuous activity until after they are born."

Inuyasha took a deep breath and nodded. He felt like he could handle two newborn pups but three was really pushing it. He bit his lip but was once more embraced. "It's okay Inuyasha. I'm here mate." The doctor felt nervous seeing his stoic lord being so affectionate. It was weird on a different level, one his mate wouldn't believe when he told her.

The two lords left the medical ward and simply strolled through the castle. Well, they tried. Sesshomaru was still so excited that his youki began lashing out at the surroundings. Ruined painting here, broken ceramics there, by the time they made it to their chambers, they'd left a trail of destruction. "Mate you have to calm down a bit, I don't want our rooms ruined as well." Inuyasha scolded.

"I cannot help myself. I am quite pleased." Sesshomaru stated. He embraced Inuyasha, capturing his soft lips and tangling his hand in his hair. He loved how soft and long it'd become in his pregnancy. Inuyasha hated how sensitive his body had become. Just the slightest touches were enough to excite him.

"Sess…" The lord could feel his mates hot member pressed against him as he lay him on the bed. Without missing a beat he began to undress him slowly, loving every inch of his body. Soon he was completely naked under him. Kissing down his body he went straight to work, in pleasing his pregnant mate. A languid lick front the base of his cock to the tip sent a delicious shudder through Inuyasha's body. Sesshomaru sucked and bobbed his head, as he stroked what he couldn't take. Inuyasha's hands were tangled in his hair as he rocked his hips to the rhythm Sesshomaru had set. "Uuugggghhhh…hah…ahh…" He moaned freely for his mate to hear. Sesshomaru pulled away and stroked his mate as he watched him. Inuyasha spread his legs further, feeling his body clench with desire. He wanted to feel his mate inside of him. "Wait…Sesshomaru…" He felt himself getting dangerously close to coming under his mates hand. Stopping his mates hand he frowned.

"We cannot do anything strenuous Inuyasha. Taking you would be dangerous to the pups." Sesshomaru gave his explanation before continuing the blowjob. Inuyasha was a bit peeved. He understood his reasoning but he had no doubt that the lord would impose any restrictions that the doctor came up with. He knew for a fact had the man said bedrest, Sesshomaru would become a ridiculous tyrant due to his obsessive nature. Inuyasha felt digits probing his entrance, before two breached and curled into him. Sesshomaru increased his suction, bobbing his head quickly. He could feel the beginning of his orgasm, as Sesshomaru took him deeper, into his throat. Inuyasha's stomach was a bit in the way of his view but he knew what the lord looked like right now. He loved the dark red blush on his ivory skin. He loved the heated look in the man's eyes and adored his touching. He felt his body tense up and Sesshomaru increased his speed, "Ah, fuck...ugh...m-mate! Mate!" Inuyasha's body tensed fully as his orgasm washed over him. His hands became tangled in Sesshomaru's hair as he swallowed him down. "Ah...hah..." The hanyou panted as Sesshomaru rose, taking in what had spilled from him mouth in a sultry display.

"How am I going to resist my delectable little mate." Sesshomaru moved his fringe from his face as he tried to control his youki. "Three pups...thank you mate." The tender words made the hanyou feel oddly shy, his mate was admiring him so intensely it made him want to push him away and hide somewhere. Sesshomaru leaned down and kissed him once again.

"You do know our lives are going to be really rough with five pups right?" Inuyasha murmured against his lips.

"Yes…but it won't ever be lonely again…"Sesshomaru whispered back between his kisses.

Inuyasha's breath hitched and he felt tears prick at his eyes as he thought about what was said. Sesshomaru had been alone for over 200 years, it was no wonder he accepted his daughter without question, the same for he and Kiki. He was in desperate need of affection. They were all a little lonely in their own ways but now they were together. Inuyasha smiled sadly at his thoughts, happy to know that his mate wouldn't feel that way ever again so long as he could help it.

"Mate what's the matter…don't cry…" Sesshomaru whispered lovingly, "It's okay…" Inuyasha accepted all the offered attention, he truly loved his mate.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This is my first completed fic!


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